NewsTechnologyNewsGoogle Assistant on Pixel upgraded to control connected smart home devices without Google Home
Google Assistant on Pixel upgraded to control connected smart home devices without Google Home
Google has started rolling out upgrades to its AI based software -- Google Assistant on the Pixel smartphones that will include a new feature for controlling smart home devices
Rahul Sethi
By Rahul Sethi: Google has started rolling out upgrades to its AI based software -- Google Assistant on the Pixel smartphones that will include a new feature for controlling smart home devices. The feature was previously available only on Google Home -- the company's AI-powered voice-control based speaker that could connect supported smart home devices like Chromecast, Nest and Philips Hue and control them via voice commands.
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Now the option will now be available on the Pixel smartphone under the name Home Control and work in a similar way to control connected devices. You may need to update your Google app and the Play services.
Google Assistant now has two tabs in the newly made Home Control section -- one that lists all the devices and the other segregating them into Room for group operation or cleaner management.
After setting up the app and adding devices in Google Assistant, you'll be able to control them with voice commands from your Pixel smartphone, something like the Google Now search.
The control was only available on Google Home and through it the devices could be control by a phone if required. The feature is embedded directly into the Google Assistant present on Pixel so there is no third party solution needed for the same. You can add native support for device directly in the Assistant app and control them from the phone using voice commands like with Google Home.
Though Google Home is available in India on Amazon.in at Rs 23,999, it is not yet officially listed on company's website (so it probably not fully supported). Apart from music and general search, the device can answer latest on weather, traffic, finance, sports, local businesses and more.
The Pixel is available for around Rs 55,000 on Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal for the 32GB variant.It comes with a 5-inch display while the Pixel Xl is the bigger 5.5 inch device selling at a starting price of Rs 66,000 for the 32GB variant. The phone, like the Apple iPhone 7 (or all before it) doesn't come with a storage expansion slot like that is available on the Galaxy S7.
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