All that Matters (and more) for your Google Home
Google has made a number of exciting announcements at its I/O conference in recent days, including several that point to interesting developments for the smart home.
Matter, the exciting soon-to-launch industry standard was front and center of Google’s smart home focus.
Explainer: What is Matter smart home
Many Nest devices will be updated to work as Matter controllers, connecting and controlling your Matter-enabled devices. Matter controllers will include the original Google Home speaker, Google Mini, Nest Mini, Nest Hub (1st and 2nd gen), Nest Hub Max, Nest Audio and Nest Wifi.
Google also revealed that the Nest Wifi, Nest Hub Max and Nest Hub (2nd gen) will also become Thread border routers for a Matter smart home.
Explained: What is Thread and why does it matter for your smart home
Unlike Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, Thread provides more instant results when it comes to things like smart lighting.
Thread compatibility can actually be added to a bunch of existing devices with through a software update. As long a device support the 802.15.4 protocol (which is very common) then they can be upgraded to support Thread.
Google is also launching a new Google Home site to help you explore Google Home-compatible devices and capabilities, as well as offering automated routines to help streamline your smart home life.
The “Works with” partner program is being updated from “Works with Hey Google” to “Works with Google Home”, but they essentially mean the same thing – if you see this badge you’ll know the labelled device will connect easily to your Google smart home ecosystem.
Meanwhile, if you’ve got a Nest Hub Max (or are thinking of getting one), Google’s Assistant Smart Display, you’ll also be interested to hear about the nifty updates for the device launching soon.
First up is “Look and Talk”, which will let you activate the Hub Max simply by looking at it, with no need to use a wake phrase. If privacy is a concern, be assured that all processing is carried out on the device and no video is sent to the cloud.
You’ll also find it generally easier to chat to your Nest Hub Max, with Quick Phrases and a natural language update.
Quick Phrases are commands that will be recognized by the device without a wake word, including common requests such as asking for the time, setting alarms, turning the lights on and off, or asking about the weather.
Users will need Voice Match enabled on the device, and can select the phrases they require in the app.
Finally, if you’ve ever had to start a request several times because you umm, err or otherwise trip over your words, you’ll be pleased at the coming improvements to Google Assistant’s voice recognition. Assistant will ignore umms, pauses and interruptions, and understand better when someone is pausing but hasn’t finished speaking.
Look and Talk is rolling out for Android users of the Google Home app this week, and iOS users later in May. Natural language improvements will launch in early 2023.
