Jordan O'BrienThe Google Assistant was initially designed to make controlling a smart home easier than ever, but now Google has new ambitions. A newly released feature allows users to quickly add smart home devices into the ecosystem, using the new ‘sync’ voice command.
Users with a Google Assistant-enabled device can simply mutter the words ‘Hey Google, sync my devices’, and magically have all their smart home products connected to the AI. Google essentially just scans the home Wi-Fi network to identify any devices that it can connect to, and once it sees a device it becomes voice controllable.
Some devices will be easier than others to set-up, but the new command should work with just about anything that is compatible with the Google Assistant. That means smart outlets, security cameras, lights, and just about anything else that could be lurking in the average smart home.
There are some hoops that homeowners will still have to jump through in order to get the devices talking to the Google Assistant. The biggest will be connecting the smart devices to the home Wi-Fi network in the first place; there’s no quick fix for that just yet. Users should also install all the corresponding apps to set-up the devices too, and some products, such as the Philips Hue require a hub in order to get started.
So does Google’s new ‘sync’ feature make it easier to build a smart home? Sort of, as it makes it easy to identify devices that can use the Google Assistant. That said, for now, it’s likely still easier to get a custom installer to come in and install technologies that are painfully simple to use, and can be tailored to the homeowner’s needs.