Google Home: 7 commands you need to use every day

“Hey, Google” may be an integral part of your day, but you may not know everything you can do with Google Home Assistant. Spoiler alert: the possibilities are almost limitless. We talk about the help of recipes in the kitchen to wake you up in the morning in time, to keep the party guests entertained and to reach your favorite podcasts. Google Home can do a lot.

We have seven essential tips that you will use on a regular basis.

Light it up

Equipping your home (or even a single room) with smart light bulbs is another way to take advantage of Google Home. You need special light bulbs to make this work and they are much more expensive than your average light bulb. We use Philips Hue smart LEDs in our bedroom. It’s very nice if I read in bed with the lights on and I start to feel sleepy. All I have to say is “Hey Google, turn off the lights.” To bring the light back, just say “Hey Google, turn on the lights.” You can also specify the brightness, brightness, and change the color.

Google Home now supports a number of light bulbs in addition to Philips Hue Lifix and others. To add a new light bulb, make sure your app is up to date, tap Add> Set up device > New devices > Next. From there, follow the on-screen instructions.

Cool or warm up

I invested in a Nest thermostat for our house this year and if you are as special in terms of temperature as me, I highly recommend it. After you add your device to the Google Home app, you can ask Google to set your thermostat to a certain temperature. You can also make incremental changes (e.g. “OK, Google, increase temperature 1 degree. ”

You can also control the thermostat in the application, no need to talk (Google Home> choose thermostat icon> change temperature) One of my favorite parts about Nest is that it learns how you like the temperature and adapts. For example, our nest cools down the night before bed and warms up before going to work. Nest may also remind you to change your air filter.

An additional bonus when setting an alarm

Asking Google to wake you up in the morning is a little easier than setting the alarm on your phone’s clock, or – real clock. Simply say: “Hey Google, set my alarm for …” and give yourself the time you want. The alarm will sound to stop it, you just have to say “Stop.”

Of course, you do not have to return to use the alarm at night. You can tell “Hey Google, set a timer for …” which keeps your hands free during training, cooking or if you color your hair. To turn off the alarm again, say “Stop.” You don’t have to say, “Hey Google or OK Google” before this.

Music, news and podcasts, oh!

To play podcasts of your favorite songs, make sure your favorite music app – YouTube Music, Google Play Music, Spotify, Pandora, and Deezer is supported – is connected to your Google Home app. From there, you can ask Google to play a certain song or genre (e.g. “Hey Google, playing rock from the ’90s”). If you like a song, you can ask Google to save it in the app. To end your songs “Hey Google, stop music” is your expression.

You can use the smart speaker with podcasts, but you need to request a specific one (e.g. “… play my favorite crime”). If you stopped listening in the middle of an episode, either on Google Home or on your phone, it will run from where you left off. To hear the headlines, you can customize your favorite news sources from the Google Home app and change the order in which they are played. Most news stations have a podcast, so you can ask Google to play that as well.

Get the weather forecast today and next week

Will you need an umbrella today? Has it really cooled? Ask Google what the weather is like and it will give you the current temperature and an overview for the rest of the day wherever you are. Google can provide even more forecasts if you ask for the weekend or next week.

Game time

Google has a few games – I’d recommend trying Mad Libs, Lucky Trivia or Song Quiz first. These can be fun party games or a good way to keep kids busy on a rainy afternoon.

Movies playing nearby

The days of calling the cinema and listening to a recording read titles have long since disappeared. When you ask “What movies are playing?” Google will list a few titles and ask you which movie you’re interested in. From there, Google can help you choose an hour and tell you how to buy tickets to the nearest Fandango theater.