Before officially meeting its U.K. customers in April, Google Home recently enjoyed a strong boost as 12 more smart device brands are now supporting it.
Before officially meeting its U.K. customers in April, Google Home recently enjoyed a strong boost as 12 more smart device brands are now supporting it.
The new companies supporting Google Assistant are August, Lifx, Wink, Rachio, TP-Link, First Alert, Vivint, Best Buy Insignia, Frigidaire, Anova, Geeni and Logitech Harmony.
Smart lock August becomes the first lock working with Google Home, although with limited functionalities. While Google Assistant allows for door locking and status check, its voice assistant rival Alexa can lock and unlock August devices. Other features are said to come to Google Home later this year.
For Rachio’s Smart Sprinkler Controller, Google Home users can now schedule when to turn on and off the sprinkler based on weather forecast, with voice.
The integration of Google Assistant into Vivint Smart Home allows users to give voice commands to multiple devices connected to Vivint’s system, including smart locks, lights, cameras, garage doors, thermostats and security system. One application is that by saying “Ok Google, tell Vivint I feel hot,” temperature adjustment will be made to thermostats. The Vivint Smart Home system requires professional installation and Google Home support will be available a bit later in April.
With Logitech Harmony and its compatible hubs including the Harmony Hub, Harmony Companion and Harmony Elite, Google Home owners can now control third-party smart home devices via the platform. For example, users can say “Ok Google, ask Harmony to turn on movie time” to activate the HBO app on the smart TV.
All the above mentioned companies have already launched their Alexa skills.
But the latest development a major update for Google Home. First launched last November, Google Home had worked with only four platforms – Nest, Philips Hue, SmartThings and IFTTT. Belkin WeMo lighting products and Honeywell thermostats added Google Home support later in January.
Google Home will officially be launched in the U.K. on April 6, competing with Amazon Echo in the foreign market. Google will also introduce its mesh Wi-Fi router product Google Wifi in the country.