One of the reasons smart speakers like Amazon Echo took off is because they created a hub that allowed users to control and interact with their smart home devices using their voice. But if you prefer using Google Home, then the mid-February update might be of interest to you, especially with the new predefined voice actions.
Google Home gets new voice actions in latest update
As part of the mid-February update, Google has added a bunch of new predefined voice actions to the Home app. With these new voice actions, it should, in theory, make it faster when it comes to creating new routines.
Now, when you create a new automation in the editor, you’ll have more voice actions to choose from. The list includes announcing the time and weather, asking what time to set an alarm, and playing sounds like a chime, music, news, podcasts, radio, or even sleep sounds. Also, for a bit of fun, you can even get Google Home to tell you a joke.
However, as Android Police notes, these actions are limited to the full Automation editor in the Google Home app. They will not appear in Ask Home or the “Help me create” section. These new voice actions should be more than sufficient for most users. Still, Google says that they are working to expand support.
What else is in the update?
In addition to new voice actions, Google says the update will allow users to finally be able to delete pre-made routines. This includes “Good morning” and “Bedtime” routines. If you have your own preferred routines that you’d rather use for “Good morning” or “Bedtime,” you can delete those premade ones in favor of something you made yourself.
Google has also included a new way for users to send feedback. This is useful in case something doesn’t go as expected, perhaps due to a bug. Last but not least, Google Home for the web will allow users to download clips up to 5 minutes long. In the past, longer clips would get split into multiple shorter clips.
These updates are being rolled out as we speak, so keep an eye out for them if these are some changes you’ve been looking forward to.
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