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Apple Music for Android works with Chromecast devices in the latest beta
Good news for Apple Music users on Android: the music streaming service now works with Chromecast displays and speakers. The feature is available through the latest beta of the app.
Google Assistant's bedtime stories come to iOS and Android
Once upon a time (well, in 2017), Google Assistant learned a new trick on Google Home devices: how to tell stories to kids. Ahead of National Tell a Story Day taking place on Saturday, youngsters now have more ways to hear a bedtime tale. As of today, the feature will be available on iOS and Android phones in English in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and India.
Google said to plan first smartwatch, budget phones for 2019
If Google introduced a lot of hardware in 2018, it might have a veritable avalanche in store for 2019. Nikkei sources claim to have details of Google's roadmap for the year, which includes a few firsts for the brand. To begin with, the insiders appear to corroborate rumors of lower-cost Pixel phones. The scoop doesn't include many details, but suggests the budget Pixel line will sit below the $749 price of the iPhone XR. Earlier rumors pointed to mid- and large-sized devices with 1080p LCDs, Snapdragon 670 processors, 32GB of storage, a 12-megapixel rear camera and a lone front shooter.
Smart displays came into their own in 2018
When Amazon first debuted the Echo Show last year, plenty of people, us included, mocked its unusual design. More than that, we wondered if adding a display to a smart speaker makes sense, or if it was just another one of Amazon's gimmicks. It turns out, however, that being able to see the result of your queries is actually quite helpful; it's easier to glance at your entire shopping list than it is to have Alexa read it line by line. Amazon later followed up with the Echo Spot bedside clock, which offers the same features in a smaller design.
Google Assistant can now speak with an Australian or English accent
Google Assistant hasn't been traveling, but it has picked up some new accents. The voice assistant now has the ability to speak in an Australian or English accent (though Google calls it British). The feature is available across all devices including Android phones and Google Home speakers, but only for English speakers in the US for the time being.
You can now sync Chromecast with Google Home speakers
Starting today, Google is allowing Chromecast owners to add the streaming device to speaker groups along with Home speakers. The addition of the dongle to the Home ecosystem will allow you to queue up a song, playlist, podcast or audiobook and have it play in sync across all of the speakers and Chromecast-connected devices in your home.
Google refutes reported Home Hub security flaw
A security researcher discovered a series of commands that could be used to brick the Google Home Hub. According to Jeremy Gamblin, it's possible to exploit a "undocumented (and amazingly unsecured)" API. It can be used to force the device to reboot or reveal data about a victim's network.
Google Home can enhance kids' stories with music and sound effects
Google has announced a partnership with Disney that can help bring kids stories to life. Starting today, Google Home can play ambient music and sound effects as you read select Little Golden Books aloud. All you have to do is say "Hey Google, let's read along to Disney," and start reading a compatible story.
Google Home Hub's best feature is not having a camera
Both Google and Facebook unveiled products for the growing "smart display" market this week. Facebook's Portal is meant to be the best way to make video calls; it also has Alexa built in, so it can do just about everything an Echo does as well. Meanwhile, Google's Home Hub can quickly answer questions and pull up info from services like YouTube, Google Maps, Calendar, Search and Photos. It also doubles as a command center for smart home devices and a pretty nice digital-photo frame. Essentially, it extends what the Google Assistant can already do by visually offering more information than you can get with voice alone -- similar to what Amazon already does with the Echo Show. But perhaps the most important feature of the Home Hub is what Google didn't include: a camera. That means video chat is off the table, and that's a design decision Google thinks will give it an edge over Amazon and Facebook.
Google's revamped Home app puts all of your devices in one place
Google not only offered the Home Hub to connected households at its Pixel 3 event but also had a new version of the Home app for your phone. The revamped Android and iOS software promises both a much more organized approach to smart home control and more flexibility for where you take control. Similar to the Home Hub's new Home View dashboard, you now have a clear view of your various Home-friendly devices in one place rather than having to jump from app to app. It also organizes devices by room, so you won't have to remember which speaker is in the living room.
Google Home Hub hands-on: A surprisingly compact smart display
Sure, Google's new Home Hub wasn't a secret today -- but I was still surprised at just how tiny the device is in real life. I imagined a tablet-sized screen perched on top of something resembling the giant Google Home Max, but I couldn't have been more wrong if I tried. The Home Hub is positively dainty -- thin, light and unobtrusive. The photo below with my iPhone 8 Plus next to the Home Hub should give you an idea just how small this device is. It still feels like a Google Home product, with the same acoustically transparent fabric found on the Home Mini and Max. But, the display clearly sets it apart from Google's past smart speakers.
Google speakers don't stand out, and that's a good thing
Two years ago, Google unveiled the Home, its first-ever smart speaker. Unlike the Echo, with its tall, cylindrical shape that seemed like an over-sized router, the Home was short, stout and decidedly more friendly in appearance. Google followed that same design philosophy with last year's Home Mini, a fabric-wrapped shell that looked more like a piece of home decor than a smart speaker. Of course, the Home Max does look more speaker-like as that's its primary purpose, but it still has the fabric-clad aesthetic. The underlying design philosophy behind all of it: To look as unobtrusive as possible.
Google Home updates may help you wind down at night
While Google has yet to launch its digital wellbeing features on Android phones, it's already thinking of how to bring them to the smart speaker in your living room. The 9to5Google team has discovered material in the the latest Google app for Android that points to these digital health features coming to Home speakers and other Assistant-equipped devices. While the exact functionality isn't clear, there's a Downtime feature that could stop people from using Home at certain times of the day, such as when they're winding down at the end of the night. That could be particularly helpful if you have a bad habit of playing music or asking questions when you should be getting to bed.
Huawei's Google Home clone has Alexa inside
When Samsung launched the Galaxy Home speaker earlier this month, people were quick to point out how its name seemed ripped off from Google. Not to be outdone, Huawei is unveiling its own AI speaker here at IFA 2018, and it's clearly borrowed much more from the Google Home... just not the name. The AI Cube is a cylindrical speaker that looks like a stretched out version of Google's device, though it will offer Amazon's Alexa instead of Assistant. Like Samsung, Huawei is promising high-quality audio on its speaker. That's not all -- the AI Cube is also a 4G router.
Google Assistant can play songs from Pandora Premium
Pandora's Plus and ad-supported users have been able to listen using Google Home for almost two years, and the streaming service is now meshing more tightly with Google Assistant. Starting today, Premium listeners can use their voice to play on-demand tunes and playlists on devices with the assistant baked in, including Google's smart speakers and third-party devices.
Galaxy Home is Samsung's Bixby-powered smart speaker
Samsung has been developing a speaker based on its own digital assistant, Bixby, for awhile. But today, we're getting our first look at it. During the company's Galaxy Note 9 event in New York City, Samsung finally revealed the Galaxy Home smart speaker, a clear rival to the Apple HomePod, the Google Home and the Amazon Echo line. The device, which features the rumored tripod design with a round body, is powered by Harman's AKG audio and was engineered to "make music sound amazing."
The nine speakers we recommend in our back-to-school guide
Though our back-to-school guide includes plenty of headphones, we threw in just as many speakers. Whether you intend to host a few parties or just want the convenience of a smart speaker, we found a number of models that we feel earn their space in your dorm. As you might expect, our list of nine picks include plenty of smart speakers, including usual suspects like the Apple HomePod, Google Home and Sonos One. Our feeling is, if you're going to invest in bookshelf or desktop speakers, you may as well have the option of using voice commands. That said, nearly half of our recommendations are portable, with highlights from JBL, Bang & Olufsen and the category leader, UE. As a warning, not everything on this list is cheap (we're looking at you, Klipsch), but some, like the UE Wonderboom are much cheaper, with a street price of around $70. Find all that and more (plus those headphone picks we mentioned) in our complete guide.
Google's Home Max speaker arrives in Australia
Google's high quality Home Max speaker is coming to Australia. The company's most expensive audio product, which boasts sound 20 times more powerful than the standard Google Home, will be available in the country from August 9. The Australian release supports Assistant's latest features, such as Multiple Commands, as well as Home Max's biggest draw, Smart Sound, which automatically adapts to the environment of a room.
Google Home can now schedule routines
When Google introduced routines to Assistant, it promised that you'd eventually have the option to schedule those routines instead of having to invoke them yourself each and every time. That feature is finally here -- Google has confirmed a Droid Life report revealing that scheduled routines are now reaching users. If you have an Assistant-equipped smart speaker, you can use the Home app to make multi-step actions repeat on specific days. You could adjust your lights and play music when you get up for work on weekdays, for instance.
Five years later, the Chromecast still holds its own
There aren't many gadgets that I'm still using five years after I buy them, except for maybe a laptop. Even then, that's getting quite long in the tooth given how quickly upgrades arrive these days. Chromecast and Google Cast are still things that I use multiple times a day, every day. When Google introduced the Chromecast in 2013, the company promised to make any TV with an HDMI port a smart display with the combination of a thumb-drive-like dongle and your home WiFi. That it did, but in the months that followed, Google expanded the tech undergirding its TV accessory well beyond that $35 device.
