Google Home

The first iteration of the Google Home app was fine for launch, but there are certain features and refinements that were missing, then they made it a little convoluted by switching you back and forth between Home and Assistant for some reason, but this new version is exactly what I'd expect from Google. The UI/UX is phenomenal and the features you actually expect are right at your fingertips when you open the app, such as the ability to see every device and manage their basic operations with one click and not having to dig through various apps to target such devices manually. The addition of pairing a Bluetooth speaker has been long awaited but also the ability to make a speaker group and simultaneously play music through all of them is another feature I had been waiting for as someone who has speakers throughout the house. Google, you truly nailed it with this update and I really hope the majority of the updates are minor fixes and routine maintenance, because as it stands, this app feels polished and feature rich!

I honestly wasn't expecting much since I stayed at a home that had Alexa. I genuinely love the Google home so much. It's easy to maneuver and I like that it resumes from where you left off if you accidentally stop it. As for improvements, I'd love more options for news (especially a astrology and astronomy and Broadway based one) and to be able to read the full description of each news option somehow. Perhaps a transcript of the news as well to read along. I'd like it if you could go through your past questions/requests to the Google home as well just so I don't have to repeat myself if it speaks too fast. For lingists I think it would be neat if you could do a bilingual option (I know you can do multiple languages but it wouldn't answer to me when i spoke English even though it was the primary language). It would be nice to practice other languages with the Home's help. Or an option to put topics you want to stay up-to-date on and it will Google search and read the newest articles.

Home mostly works but it still has lots of bugs. It stops playing streams at least once or twice a day. It looses connection to the internet. When I place a phone call, it thinks it is the first time I have used it, and reads me a boring script. It is difficult to manage notifications. A Reminder is easy to miss because it does not include an alarm sound. Although Google has access to my every word, they never seem to push software updates. It drives me crazy that it is not user configurable. If you speak to it it sometimes doesn’t respond, if you yell at it, two speakers respond. If you start a stream on one speaker, there is no way to add a new speaker when you move to a new room. There is no way to group lights and or speaker into a scene, So you have to turn them on one at a time or turn on all lights in a room. There are still limits to wireless switch and bulb configurations on the market. This is not Google’s fault but some smart rocker switches are incompatible with standard cover plates. There is no two gang switch yet. All wireless outlet units stick out of the wall and make the plug hit furniture, etc.

Compared to Alexa: (1) home hub doesn’t show the time at night (the “ambient light sensor” turns the screen 100% black) (2) can’t call a specific room (3) can’t play a song without blabbering for a minute about every artist and service involved (4) can’t set family reminders that go off for everyone (5) the hub devices can’t hear anyone speak well (6) google can’t play popular songs like the Lion King (featured in their own commercials) without manual intervention otherwise they play knockoffs (7) will only play white noise for an hour unless specified (8) don’t have a quiet mode so if you ask something at night have to listen to it scream across your house nonsense like “this is what white noise sounds like” (9) assistant only sometimes connects to the devices and when it does it can’t even perform the same tasks (eg play white noise) (10) Hub doesn’t display the time if the hub is doing anything besides nothing which makes it a terrible bedside device -even white noise turns off the clock which is stupid by every measure

First, let me say my experience on the phone with customer service (Michael) was outstanding. He helped me fix the original issue. I had every item in our home set up, but I was unable to set up the Living Room. After hours of failed attempts, I got in contact with support. Michael walked me through a few different troubleshooting ideas to no avail. When he realized I was using the iPhone XR, he told me that was the issue. I had to get my son’s iPhone 6 to complete the set up. Great. Problem solved. An hour and a half later, all of the items in our household crashed. I attempted to walk through the steps Michael had provided. It all seemed fine, until it came to the last step (connecting to Wi-Fi), at which point, the TV showed my the screen with the 4 digit code...again. I went in circles for 2 more hours. I requested replacement Chromecast devices and Michael said he would definitely pass the word up. For everything in our house to crash and not reboot, I am guessing it has something to do with the update. After all, the last question it asked before I had to start over was, “Set up some smart lights”, which is actually more of a command than a question.