Google home launched in November 2016 comes at $129 at Overstock. Similar to Echo, Echo Dot and Apple Homepod, it shows prominent performance in hardware and variable service. It is, meanwhile, the only one available for customization among the three. Yet, as everything is born with both merits and demerits, you may find limits of it.
Control your home entertainment center
Amazon Echo allows excellent integration with Logltech’s Harmony home hubs, making it possible for you to turn off and on it with voice command. However, if you want to use Google home control home deices, you will have to create applets with IFTTT or bridge the language gap with a compatible hub, such as SmartThings.
Add events to Google Calendar
Surprisingly, if you try to add an event to your Google Calendar with Google Home, you may be met with “Sorry, I can’t add events to your calendar yet.”
However, if you want to use this feature, you could create an IFTTT applet by using the phrasing, “OK Google, add $ to my calendar for #,” (where $ is the event name and # is the time the event starts).
Take notes or voice memos
Still a shortcoming of the Alexa speakers is the inability to make notes using dictation or store voice memos. Likewise, you can’t make notes or memos with the Google home either.
Also, you can create this function by creating an IFTTT applet.
String commands together
Google Home is not yet capable of taking a string of commands and separating them. You must separate each command into its own statement. For example, if you say “OK, Google, turn on the music and set the volume to 50 percent.” your command will not be recognized. Instead, you have to issue two separate commands to achieve this — “OK, Google, turn on the music. [Pause.] OK, Google, set the volume to 50 percent.”
If you want to take more than 3 commands, it will be bothering for you to speak them out one by one. The only alternative is to create multiple IFTTT Applets with the same trigger phrase. Even then, the trigger phrase will only control external devices and services and you can’t begin playing music or change the volume of Google Home using IFTTT.
Bluetooth capabilities
The Google Home doesn’t have Bluetooth capabilities. It means you can play only limited audio through the speaker. Officially, you can listen to music through Google Play Music, YouTube Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio and TuneIn. However, if you want to listen to music or audio from unsupported sources, you will need to use the Google Home speaker as a Chromecast audio ($35.00 at Dell Home) receiver.
Make calls or send messages
Google Home also doesn’t support hands-free calling at home, nor sending messages. However, with the help of IFTTT, you can manage to send a text message, as long as you have an Android phone.
For example, by creating a new Google Assistant applet with say a phrase with a text ingredient for the trigger, you can say something like, “Hey, Google, text mom I’m on my way” after that Google Home will transcribe it and send the message through the SMS app on your connected Android phone.
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