HEY GOOGLE!

With over 50,000 devices from 10,000 brands, the Google smart ecosystem has solutions for everyone

Google Assistant has been with us since 2016, when it debuted on the first Pixel phone, and it’s now able to communicate with and control tens of thousands of compatible devices. Google Home is the second most popular smart home system: as of summer 2021 it was estimated that eight million American homes had multiple Google Home devices, compared to 20 million for Amazon.

BORN TO BE WIDE

Google Assistant is the app and virtual personal assistant for Google Home and Nest, the smart home system Google bought in 2019. It’s in all of the newest Android phones as well as many older ones, and also appears in Google devices including the Chromecast and Pixelbook Go, plus lots of third-party devices. The product range covers everything from phones to locks, thermostats and plugs, and that wide selection of devices means prices are very competitive, especially compared to Homekit.

Although Google Assistant’s true home is on Android, there’s an iphone/ipad app too.

You can’t officially replace Siri with it but there is a workaround, by creating a shortcut in the iphone Shortcuts app.

For the best Google Home experience, though, you should use an Android device, a Google-compatible smart speaker or a dedicated Google Home hub such as the Nest Hub (see right). These hubs can also present a range of information and play media, much like the Echo Shows do.

SEE YOUR DATA, ALLIGATOR

Google is in the data business and there have been concerns over its privacy protection. It says it does not sell your data for ads, although it does use it for personalisation of your Google services and the Google-powered ads you see. You can access any recorded conversations and delete them via My Activity, or by saying “Hey Google, delete this week’s activity.”