Here’s How to Enable the Latest Google Home Updates
Google Home owners are likely to have more conversations with their living rooms thanks to the update that allows the voice assistant to make phone calls to the US and Canada . This is one of many recent updates that bring more functionality and compatibility with other services to your smart home device.
Phone calls without a phone
Calls are made over Wi-Fi, numbers are picked from organizations or from your Google contact list. All you have to do is say the phrase “Ok Google, call daddy” to hear a beep (of course, in speakerphone mode). If you share your Google Home with someone else, its voice recognition capabilities will ensure you call the correct patriarch.
However, there are a few bugs that Google needs to fix in order to make this call truly hassle-free. First, the recipient of a Google Home call won’t see your number (unless you have Project Fi – more on that below), although the company says it will display the correct number for all users by the end of the year. He also does not have a 911 call help desk.
Project Fi users get privileges
Google Home owners using the Google Project Fi or Google Voice wireless phone service have access to one or two additional features over customers with a different wireless service provider. Firstly, your phone number is displayed on the phone of the recipient of the call, which means that he will actually see who is calling, and will not assume that you are some kind of robot.
You can also make calls to “premium rates ” and international numbers at the appropriate rates – a feature not available to Google Home owners without the aforementioned accounts. Visit “Advanced Settings”, then select “Calls” to activate the feature.
Finally, Bluetooth support
In addition to phone calls, the Google Home software update finally adds support for Bluetooth audio streaming , a much-requested feature that’s been present in rival Amazon Echo voice assistant since its own debut. It also adds free built-in music streaming via Spotify Free and Deezer, a perk previously exclusively associated with premium accounts. Of course, you won’t be able to play songs on demand with the built-in Spotify Free account, but at least you can listen to some ad-supported hits and use the Google Assistant to select different playlists.
Not a subscriber to streaming music? If you are not using the music streaming services supported by Google Home, you can connect your Google Home to your phone via Bluetooth and play tunes through any app of your choice.
Open the Google Home app, tap the Devices button in the top right corner, then tap the three dots next to your Google Home. From there, you can select Paired Bluetooth devices and add your own. Google Assistant offers simplified voice commands for Bluetooth pairing, such as pause and volume control, and lets you play tunes from places other than Google Play Music or Spotify (like Apple Music or Overcast).
Compared to Amazon Echo, Google Home finally has the basics and has even cooler tricks added in the near future (like streaming home requests to your TV via Chromecast).