Eric Ravenscraft
Currently, Google Assistant can support a lot of smart home gadgets, but for some devices like A/C units or coffee makers, there’s no easy way to control them with voice commands. That’s about to change.
If you’re using a smart air conditioner right now, behind the scenes the developer has to classify it as a thermostat in order to get it to work. This is okay, but it means some commands like turning the fan on don’t work as smoothly as they should. Other devices like coffee makers or sprinkler systems don’t have any specialized voice control systems in place behind the scenes, which means you have to use complicated voice commands “Hey Google, ask [my coffee maker] to start making coffee” or even turn to third-party services to make it work at all.
Google is fixing this by adding support for seven new device categories: air conditioning units, air purifiers, coffee makers, fans, kettles, ovens, and sprinklers. These devices will join the ranks of smart lights, thermostats, and smart locks to become devices that you can control directly via Google Assistant without having to jump through hoops. Or, at the very least, it means developers can set it up that way for you.
What does this mean for you? Well, currently, not much. The companies behind your favorite products will still need to update their software to make use of it. But, once they do, you should be able to use simple commands like “Hey Google, turn on the sprinklers” without having to muck around with making sure you phrase every command exactly right.
Source: Actions on Google via Android Police
