Google Assistant

The first months of the year saw workers and offices thrown into chaos trying to adjust to new work from home and remote work arrangements. Now it's almost time for schools to experience that same transition, hopefully a little less jarring thanks to months of preparation and planning. Systems and products are now in place that can help bring order to what would otherwise be chaos as kids start schooling from home and Google Assistant is right there at your beck and call, quite literally, too!

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They may look like tablets but they are definitely not as versatile as tablets. Smart displays, that breed of devices that slap a screen on a smart speaker, are mostly designed for giving visual feedback to otherwise spoken responses from a digital assistant, though some can indeed play videos or even be used for video calls. There's definitely a lot of room for expanding its capabilities while still sticking to its core philosophy. It turns out, that core philosophy is perfect for some games you can play with the family in the living room.

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Google and Samsung have a rather unique relationship that borders on being described as "frenemies". Samsung has on more than one occasion expressed its desire to eventually be free of Google's influence while it continues to be one of if not the biggest Android device maker in the world for years. Things have been less turbulent recently, with Samsung playing the role of a better Android partner. Now it seems that the two are ready to take their relationship to the next level that could see Samsung yield more ground to Google Search as well as Google Assistant.

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First, they were rectangular boxes. Then they became canisters or pucks. Over the years, wireless speakers have changed their form and now Google seems to be considering yet another revolution in speaker design. Practically confirming an earlier leak, Google has apparently been sending out more or less official marketing material for what may be the successor of the Google Home sporting what can probably be best described as a pillow design.

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Today we're taking a peek at the newest in Google Home and Google Assistant hardware with a leaked smart speaker. This device is likely the successor to the original Google Home speaker, now likely headed for a Google release with new "Nest" branding onboard. The abilities of this device are not known in full, but what we can see and read give us a pretty good idea of what we're going to get.

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Google did some re-arranging and adding to its giant list of Google Assistant device types this week. This list is specifically for connections between devices and to Google Assistant, but the listing itself provides more than just info for aspiring creators. Google's latest subset of types, Smart Home Entertainment Devices, allow us a peek at what Google's analysts have seen for tomorrow's biggest consumers.

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The appeal of smart homes and smart appliances isn't just the fact that they connect to the Internet. It's the fact that they connect to Internet-based services and features, like remote control from phones or voice commands makes them the ultimate modern convenience. Unfortunately for owners of Philips' first-generation Hue Bridge, that convenience is finally coming to a close with Google pulling the plug out of its Assistant integration on Monday.

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Google is gearing up to release a new Nest smart speaker that is allegedly codenamed 'prince,' a new leak claims. The model is said to feature a familiar Google smart speaker design, but with upgraded audio compared to the previous Google Home model, enabling it to take on the Sonos One smart speaker. The speaker model hasn't been officially announced at this time, but will likely make an appearance later this year.

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Google Assistant is available on a wide variety of smart devices, not just those with Google's name on them. Unfortunately, the reality is that Google's own devices naturally get some preferential treatment in getting features before others. Sometimes those features never come but sometimes they do just take their time rolling out to others. Fortunately for owners of third-party smart speakers, that day is close and soon they'll be able to enjoy some of the latest features Google Assistant has to offer.

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A new free Nest Mini has appeared in a sort of "offer" delivered to a number of subscribers to YouTube Premium. This isn't the first time Google's delivered their Google Assistant speaker devices to subscribers to their services. This usually signals that Google is preparing to release a new model - but it's also part of their overarching efforts to get as many Google Assistant devices as possible into the hands of users and potential users.

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Remember the almost comical incident more than three years ago when Amazon Echo speakers started ordering dollhouses because a TV anchor said so? Those things are long behind us and people have been less than enthusiastic about the prospect of making big orders without any visual confirmation from their phone at the very least. But for a certain class of users, that may be the only kind of interaction they may be able to make which is why Google is now testing an accessibility feature that would let some users confirm purchases by voice alone.

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COVID-19 measures, particularly lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders, have taken a toll on everyone. For one group in particular, however, these days have been more emotionally and psychologically draining because of being socially isolated even from their loved ones. These are the high-risk seniors that may, unfortunately, be living by themselves or in retirement communities away from children and grandchildren. Google is now reaching out to these people with Nest Hub Max units and a new experience fine-tuned for their particular needs.

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