Tag Archives: Google Home

Accessories made for you


There's a lot of new hardware from Google coming your way, and so are new accessories to go along with them. We're launching a variety of beautiful and useful accessories make charging your phone, listening to your favorite song, and looking stylish with your device better than ever.

From our signature fabric cases, to smart bulbs connected to your Google Assistant, we’ve created lots of compatible accessories designed to pair perfectly with your Google devices and help you put your personal stamp on your devices.

Wireless charging, redefined: meet Pixel Stand

Ever tried to use your phone while it’s plugged into a wall charging? Us too. It can be a mess. With Pixel Stand, we’re solving that problem by tilting the angle of the screen to give you the info you need while your Pixel 3 or Pixel 3XL phone is charging.

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Pixel Stand makes it easier to receive notifications, listen to music and access the web with help from the Google Assistant while your Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are charging. Features include:

  • An enhanced music experience on your Pixel 3. See your favorite artists' album covers on display while listening to their music. 
  • While docked, turn your phone into a digital photo frame with Google Photos and relive your favorite moments with family and friends.
  • Quick access to your Google Assistantso you can get a rundown of your day, the traffic for your commute and listen to your favorite podcast just by saying “Hey Google, good morning.”
  • Smart home integrations to help you manage your home. If you have a Nest Hello video doorbell, you can get a live feed on your Pixel screen when docked.
  • A gentle wake-up with Pixel Stand’s Sunrise Alarm, which mimics a sunrise on your screen over the course of 15 minutes, brightening your room so you can get on with your day.
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Rich digital audio, and the Google Assistant in your ear

Last year, we introduced Pixel Buds—wireless headphones that give you instant access to the best features available from the Google Assistant. This year, we’ve included a pair of wired Pixel USB-C Earbuds in the box with Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL—the first wired USB-C headphones to include access to the Google Assistant. These not only provide rich audio quality, but also allow the Google Assistant read notifications, give in-ear directions, and provide real-time translation through Google Translate, optimized for Pixel users. You’ll also get a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter, so you can use any other 3.5mm compatible headphones with your Pixel 3.

Protect your Pixel, just in case

We’ve updated our line of fabric cases with stylish new colors, or you can customize your own My Case with a personal photo, curated design, or stylized map. Perfectly made for your phone, our cases work with Qi wireless charging and Active Edge™.

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Something for everyone

Our Made for Google line of accessories includes more than 400 compatible add-ons for your Pixel, Pixelbook, Pixel Slate and Google Home Mini, from more than 40 popular brands, including:

  • Cases by brands like Bellroy, Incipio, Speck, Nomad, Otterbox and Sonix so your Pixel and Pixel Slate are covered for any occasion.
  • A wide variety of audio products, from Libratone's USB-C earbuds to Skullcandy’s on-ear cans. All of these sound great and look even better.
To see more of our Made by Google and Made for Google accessories, head over to Google Store.

Making your connected home even smarter with Google Home and Nest

We’ve spent the last year working with partners to bring thousands of new devices on board to work with the Google Assistant. As of today, there are more than 200 million devices in people’s homes, made up of over 10,000 smart devices from over 1,000 brands—including Nest, LG, ADT, August, Simplisafe, Vivnt and VIZIO—that work with the Google Assistant. We’ve also expanded our offerings in categories like home security and entertainment, so that almost anyone with a TV can make their home smarter with the Google Assistant. In fact, you probably have the devices you need already.

A thoughtful home should work with all types of devices, giving you the flexibility to set your home up in a way that works best for your family. Millions of TVs, set top boxes and security systems that are in homes today can be controlled with the Assistant. And with home view on Google Home Hub, we’re putting more control at your fingertips, so you can manage all of your connected devices from a single screen. Now you can control smart lights, pause the TV, monitor Nest camera feeds, adjust thermostats and more—all on one screen.* And with the redesigned Google Home app, you can control any of your connected devices while you’re on the go.  

Here are some more ways that we’ve improved the smart home experience:

  • Lighting: Hundreds of smart lights work with the Google Assistant on Google Home, and now you can start your smart home with our newest bright idea: the Smart Light Starter Kit. The starter kit includes Google Home Mini and GE’s C-Life bulb. They come pre-linked, simplifying the setup process. The kit is yours for $55, and you can find it at the Google Store, Best Buy, Target, Lowes and Walmart.com. Additional C-Life and C-Sleep bulbs can also be easily added. It’s our way of making the smart home accessible for everyone—the kit is affordable, a breeze to set up, and the perfect addition to any home.

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  • Entertainment: Chromecast, our very first Made by Google product, makes it possible to stream your favorite shows, music and movies from more than 2,000 apps. But you probably have more than one brand of devices in your living room, so now we’re making everything work together—you can control your VIZIO TV, DISH Hopper DVR and more, from your Google Home, Mini, Max and Hub. With DISH, you can play, pause and record content, search for shows or actors, change channels and control the volume without lifting a finger.
  • Energy: Nest thermostats have saved over 24 billion kilowatt hours of energy in millions of homes worldwide since we launched the Nest Learning Thermostat in 2011. Now we’re bringing you the Nest Learning Thermostat in three new finishes: mirror black, brass and polished steel. There are now seven color options to choose from in total, so you can find the one that matches your personal style best.

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  • Home security: With security products from Nest, August, ADT, Simplisafe, Vivint Smart Home and more, you can have peace of mind whether you’re at home or on the road. You can even see your Nest Cam’s feed right in the new Google Home app, just in case you hear something go bump in the night.
  • Household chores: We’ve added even more appliances from GE, iRobot and other brands that can help you take care of everything from starting the washer to vacuuming your home. And with Google Home Hub, cleaning is as easy as, “Hey Google, clean the kitchen.” Your Roomba will take off and tidy up for you.
  • Fun: To bring more fun to the home, we partnered with Disney and OtterBox to create a custom base accessory for Google Home Mini in celebration of Mickey Mouse’s 90th anniversary. Plus, anyone with a Google Home Mini can have fun with a growing list of Disney experiences—just say, “Hey Google, play Mickey Mouse Adventure” to get started.

Now, when I say “Hey Google, good night” my doors lock, selected lights turn off, my alarm system arms, my heat sets to 66 degrees, and the Google Home Hub quietly plays cricket sounds to lull us off to sleep. That’s the difference between a smart home and a thoughtful home. And that’s the kind of home we want you to have.

*Compatible smart devices required

More control at your fingertips with the new Google Home app

If you’re like me and have more than a few connected devices at home, then you’re probably constantly fumbling in and out of lots of different apps, with way too many passwords, and you’re the only one in the house that can make your home work.It can feel overwhelming and more than a little complicated. We get it. And we’ve got you covered.

We’ve redesigned the Google Home App so that you can control all of your compatible smart devices from one place, saving you from a few headaches along the way. Here’s what’s new:

  • All devices in one view: You can keep track of everything in one place without needing to flip between apps. The new app organizes your devices by room so that you can easily control your speakers, lights, cameras, TVs and more than 10,000 connected devices that work with your Google Assistant. That means there are more than 200 million devices in the U.S. that can be controlled with your voice, many of them already in your home. Just note that controlling devices like a thermostat or lights requires smart thermostats or smart lights.
  • Quick actions to get things done: The new Google Home app now automatically generates quick actions for important features across your home with immediate access to key experiences like turning on and off smart lights, viewing your cameras, and broadcasting messages to your other Google Home devices and more.* 
  • Check in from anywhere:You’re even in control while you’re away from home—simply open the Google Home app to check in your home and make sure things are the way you want them—like making sure your thermostat is set to the right temperature when you get home.* Now you can have convenience and peace of mind, no matter where you are. 
  • Access for everyone in your home:Now, everyone under the same roof can control smart devices in your home, they just need the Google Home app on their phone. That means one app to get it all done—add, remove and control devices. We also added a feature for those of us who are on call to answer tech questions for our less-savvy family members that lets you control multiple homes. That means you can manage your parents’ home or help that cousin who’s having trouble setting up their smart home. 
  • Access the Google Assistant right in the app: The Google Assistant is easily accessible, right from the app. Go ahead, tap the mic and say, “Hey Google, dim the lights.” 
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So, whether you’re trying to change the temperature in your home, quickly put on some music, check-in on your backyard camera or turn off the lights as you head to bed, it’s all just a few taps away in the Google Home app.*

The updated Home app will be rolling out to iOS and Android users this week. And if you’re new to the Google Home family, you can download it on Google Play and in the App Store.

*Compatible smart devices required

New ways to experience Made by Google products

Today, we told you about what’s coming in our latest family of #MadebyGoogle products. But what's a line-up of shiny new products without a plethora of ways for the world to experience, try and buy them? As we continue to build products for everyone, we’re exploring helpful new ways to get our products to everyone.

The Google Hardware Store pop-ups

Starting on October 18, New Yorkers and Chicagoans can try out and buy our new products at a pop-up shop in each city—the only place you can shop Google products in a fully Google-made experiential space. Our pop ups will be open October 18 through December 31, so if you’re in Chicago (Bucktown at 1704 N. Damen) or NYC (SoHo at 131 Green Street), come visit us.

The Google Store and Enjoy

You can now pre-order and shop all of our products via the online Google Store, including the Pixel 3 / 3XL (that works with all major carriers). And as of October 18, folks in the Bay Area can buy the new Pixel 3 / 3XL and get it delivered as soon as three hours and expertly set up via the Enjoy service. You can also get the Pixel 2XL, Pixelbook and Google Home Max via Enjoy delivery now. We’re bringing the Google Store to you!

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Google Store + Enjoy bring the expertise of the Google Store to you.

b8ta

Made by Google products are part of an interactive shopping experience in five b8ta stores across the country, including Austin, Corte Madera, Houston, San Francisco, Tysons Corner, and will be available in two new b8ta stores in Short Hills, NJ and Scottsdale, AZ opening later this year. As a part of the unique in-store experience, customers can test out and shop Google’s Home products in interactive home-like vignettes. Visit a store and demo products with one of b8ta’s experts.
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Made by Google products are now part of a new interactive shopping experience in b8ta.

goop

goop is joining forces with Made by Google products to offer the Google Home smart speaker family across the U.S. in permanent goop Lab stores and goop GIFT pop-ups this holiday season. Abroad, customers can shop at the goop London pop-up which opened this past September. Keep an eye out for more information from goop + Made by Google later this month.

And as for the future...

Google Home Mini and Wing

It’s a bird, it’s a plane. It’s Google Home Mini being delivered by drone! You read that right—along with Wing (an Alphabet company), we’re pushing the boundaries of conventional delivery. As a part of a small, localized test, Google Home Minis were recently dropped off at customers’ homes only 10 minutes after ordering. Although not a reality today, imagine the possibilities in years to come… 

Get help at a glance with Google Home Hub

Google Home Hub is the newest member of the Google Home family, bringing you help at a glance. With the Google Assistant built-in, you can use your voice to get the best of Google—Search, YouTube, Google Photos, Calendar, Maps and more—right on Google Home Hub’s display. 

Thoughtfully designed for any room

The first thing you’ll notice about Google Home Hub is its beautiful design. We made this display to fit right into your home, and we hope you’ll consider it not just functional, but part of your decor. The 7” screen is like a floating display, the right size to fit on any surface and big enough to enjoy your photos from across the room. With its soft rounded corners, Google Home Hub fits naturally on any surface. My favorite places are my kitchen counter and nightstand. With four colors to choose from—Chalk, Charcoal, Aqua and Sand—it’s right for just about any room.

We consciously decided to not include a camera on Google Home Hub, so you feel comfortable placing it in the private spaces of your home, like the bedroom. On the top of the device you’ll find the Ambient EQ light sensor. It allows the screen to automatically adjust to match the lighting in the room, so photos on Google Home Hub will blend in with the room, too. That means no glowing screen—it fits seamlessly into your home. When it's time for bed, Hub knows to dim the screen for a good night’s sleep.

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Jumpstart your morning routine

I think I speak for most parents when I say mornings at home are hectic. From the time we wake up until we’re racing out the door, every minute counts. With Routines, Hub can provide you and your family with useful info about the day ahead. Just say “Hey Google, good morning” for a personalized, visual overview of your family’s activities from Google Calendar, your commute from Google Maps, your latest reminders, the weather forecast, and more. And with Voice Match, up to six people in the home can get their own personalized Routine. And I can also get easy how-to help from YouTube videos: “Hey Google, how do you make cold-brew coffee?”

Simplify your connected home

You can control 10,000+ types of smart home devices from 1,000+ popular brands. That means there are more than 200 million devices in the U.S. that are compatible with Google Home Hub, many of them already in your home. With Google Home Hub, everyone in the family can see and control your devices from a single dashboard—no more switching between apps. Just swipe down to reveal your home view: Dim your Phillps Hue lights, adjust the temperature on your Nest thermostat, turn up the volume on the TV with Vizio, lock the front door with August, monitor smart cameras, and see the front door with the Nest Hello video doorbell. 

Relive the moment with Google Photos

Google Home Hub is also a photo frame, but not your average one: it's easy to set up, automatically refreshes the photos that are displayed and features your best shots. With live albums, a new feature from Google Photos, I can relive recent memories with family and friends even while Google Home Hub is not in use. Google Photos will automatically add new photos of my son and our dog to my album, avoiding duplicates and blurry shots. I can also share our live album with my mom, so when she sets up her Google Home Hub, she’ll see photos of her grandson. Plus, you can say goodbye to endless scrolling on your phone to find photos you’re looking for. Google Home Hub makes it easy: “Hey Google, show my pictures from the Grand Canyon,” and just like that, I'm taken back to my vacation.  

Get hands-free help in the kitchen

My family spends a lot of time in our kitchen, and Google Home Hub helps us prepare recipes like a top chef. I can use my voice to browse millions of recipes and start cooking, all hands-free. We teamed up with Tasty to bring their fun, family-friendly recipe videos to Google Home Hub. Check out the pineapple upside-down pancakes recipe, it’s delicious!

Meet Google Home Hub

Google Home Hub helps you turn the music up, then wind down

At my house, Fridays are family night, and sometimes that means a dance-off. YouTube Music gets lots of use on those nights. When you buy Hub, you’ll get six months of YouTube Premium on us, so you can enjoy not just YouTube Music, but all of YouTube ad-free. You can also enjoy music from Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio and other popular music services (you may need a subscription). Google Home Hub’s full-range speaker means crisp, clear sound every time.

When you’re ready for bed, just say, “Hey Google, good night” to set an alarm, turn off compatible lights and TVs, lock the front door (as long as you have a supported lock) and fall asleep to soothing music. For busy working parents like me, every day is hectic—so these features are truly game-changing when I have my hands full or I’m strapped for time.  

I know you’ll love getting help and enjoying family time with Google Home Hub, just like my family does. You can buy Hub for $149, and starting today, you can pre-order from the Google Store. You’ll find Google Home Hub on shelves on October 22 at Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and other retailers.

Once you set up Google Home Hub, just say, “Hey Google, what can you do” to get started.


Google hardware. Designed to work better together.

This year marks Google’s 20th anniversary—for two decades we’ve been working toward our mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful for everybody. Delivering information has always been in our DNA. It’s why we exist. From searching the world, to translating it, to getting a great photo of it, when we see an opportunity to help people, we’ll go the extra mile. We love working on really hard problems that make life easier for people, in big and small ways.

There’s a clear line from the technology we were working on 20 years ago to the technology we’re developing today—and the big breakthroughs come at the intersection of AI, software and hardware, working together. This approach is what makes the Google hardware experience so unique, and it unlocks all kinds of helpful benefits. When we think about artificial intelligence in the context of consumer hardware, it isn’t artificial at all—it’s helping you get real things done, every day. A shorter route to work. A gorgeous vacation photo. A faster email response. 

So today, we’re introducing our third-generation family of consumer hardware products, all made by Google:

  • For life on the go, we’re introducing the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL—designed from the inside out to be the smartest, most helpful device in your life. It’s a phone that can answer itself, a camera that won’t miss a shot, and a helpful Assistant even while it’s charging.

  • For life at work and at play, we’re bringing the power and productivity of a desktop to a gorgeous tablet called Pixel Slate. This Chrome OS device is both a powerful workstation at the office, and a home theater you can hold in your hands.

  • And for life at home we designed Google Home Hub, which lets you hear and see the info you need, and manage your connected home from a single screen. With its radically helpful smart display, Google Home Hub lays the foundation for a truly thoughtful home.

Please visit our updated online store to see the full details, pricing and availability. 

The new Google devices fit perfectly with the rest of our family of products, including Nest, which joined the Google hardware family at the beginning of this year. Together with Nest, we’re pursuing our shared vision of a thoughtful home that isn’t just smart, it’s also helpful and simple enough for everyone to set up and use. It's technology designed for the way you live.

Ivy Ross + Hardware Design

Our goal with these new products, as always, is to create something that serves a purpose in people’s lives—products that are so useful they make people wonder how they ever lived without them. The simple yet beautiful design of these new devices continues to bring the smarts of the technology to the forefront, while providing people with a bold piece of hardware.

Our guiding principle

Google's guiding principle is the same as it’s been for 20 years—to respect our users and put them first. We feel a deep responsibility to provide you with a helpful, personal Google experience, and that guides the work we do in three very specific ways:

  • First, we want to provide you with an experience that is unique to you. Just like Google is organizing the world’s information, the combination of AI, software and hardware can organize your information—and help out with the things you want to get done. The Google Assistant is the best expression of this, and it’s always available when, where, and however you need it.

  • Second, we’re committed to the security of our users. We need to offer simple, powerful ways to safeguard your devices. We’ve integrated Titan™ Security, the system we built for Google, into our new mobile devices. Titan™ Security protects your most sensitive on-device data by securing your lock screen and strengthening disk encryption.

  • Third, we want to make sure you’re in control of your digital wellbeing. From our research, 72 percent of our users are concerned about the amount of time people spend using tech. We take this very seriously and have developed new tools that make people’s lives easier and cut back on distractions.

A few new things made by Google

With these Made by Google devices, our goal is to provide radically helpful solutions. While it’s early in the journey, we’re taking an end-to-end approach to consumer technology that merges our most innovative AI with intuitive software and powerful hardware. Ultimately, we want to help you do more with your days while doing less with your tech—so you can focus on what matters most.

Book a ride with the Google Assistant

When my friends and I are getting ready to head out to dinner, there's always a moment when we stop to ask who is going to order our ride. Now, Google can take care of it. This week, we’re rolling out a new way to easily book ride services with your Google Assistant.

With your Android phone, iPhone, Google Home, or any smart speaker with the Assistant, start by saying, “Hey Google, book a ride to the Bluebird Cafe” or “Hey Google, get me a taxi to Denver International Airport.” You will then be given a list of popular ride services to select from, including Uber, Lyft, Ola, Grab, GO-JEK and many more, along with more information on estimated pricing and wait times from each service. If you only want ride options from a single provider, just include their name in your request, for example, “Hey Google, get me a Lyft ride to SFO.”

Lyft example_Book a Ride

Then grab your phone and tap on your preferred ride service, and the app will open to let you confirm the booking. The feature will be available first in English and any country where one of our supported ride service partners operate. We plan to expand to more languages in the coming months.

If you’re in a hurry and your hands are all tied up, you’ll now be able to use the Assistant to see all your favorite ride services in one place and pick the one that works best for you.

Something new that’s also blue—new Aqua Mini


Blue: the color of ocean waves, the bright sky, sapphires and now … our latest Google Home Mini. Well, we’re actually calling it Aqua, and this new color is the first one we’ve added since we launched Google Home Mini last year.


It’s made from the same fabric as the Mini’s original colors—chalk, charcoal and coral—with the same aesthetic goal, to easily blend into your home. Aqua Mini does all the great things you expect from your Google Assistant and Google Home, like:

  • Speaking two languages interchangeably.
  • Playing music from YouTube Music, Pandora, and Spotify.
  • Sharing a message with everyone in the house with Broadcast.
  • Helping you locate your phone simply with a quick “Ok Google, find my phone.” Android phones will ring even when on silent.
And of course, you can ask it some fun questions to get to know the Google Assistant. Here are a few of our favorites, just start with “Hey Google,”
  • Tell me a secret.
  • Tell me a joke.
  • Spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
  • Tag you're it.
  • What sound does a unicorn make?

Google Home Mini in Aqua will be available from the Google Store and Walmart online later this month.  

Pump up the jams: New music streaming services now available on Google Home

Cue the music: You can now ask your Google Assistant on Google Home, Mini and Max to play some of your favorite songs with Pandora Premium and Deezer.

Both services are now available on the Google Assistant across supported devices like Google Home, Smart Displays and more. Pandora Premium subscribers can search and play their favorite songs, albums and playlists, just by using their voice. 

Plus, Deezer now allows you to stream music hands-free with access to more than 36 million HiFi tracks from around the world. So if you’ve got a Google Home Max, get ready to turn it all the way up.

To play music from Pandora or Deezer, link your accounts in the Google Home app. Then all you have to do is say, “Hey Google, play my Chill Vibes playlist on Deezer,” or “Hey Google, play my Chill playlist on Pandora.”

If you have a Google Home, you can try Pandora Premium free for 90 days. Deezer on Google Home is available for HiFi and Premium users in the U.S., Canada, Italy, Australia, U.K., France and Germany. Check the Google Home app on Android or visit store.google.com to see if your region is eligible for a special 90-day Deezer Premium trial offer

With the addition of Pandora Premium and Deezer, you have even more choices when it comes to music streaming services. So, next time you’re throwing a party or hanging out with friends, we’ve got the DJ booth covered.


The Robinsons are “Lost in Space” and Google Home can help

Hello, this is Will Robinson of the 24th Colonist Group. My family and I were headed to Alpha Centauri when we accidentally crash-landed on an unfamiliar planet. Mom, Dad, Penny, Judy and I trained for this mission and had all of the provisions for a long trip but ... it hasn’t quite turned out as planned.

Our spaceship, the Jupiter 2, is sinking in ice, and we could really use some help. Everyone’s trying to be brave, but I think we’re all pretty scared. It helps that my new robot warns me when there’s trouble—so far the only thing he says is “Danger, Will Robinson!” but I don’t think it’s enough to get us out of here.

That’s where you come in. Luckily, the wiring in our spaceship still works, so we’re able to communicate with Earth. You can radio me on your Google Home to give us a hand. Just say, “Hey Google, play the Lost in Space Game,” and I’ll answer right away.

If you can give my mom some tips on how to melt ice around the spaceship, decode scrambled messages from The Resolute (our spaceship) for Dad, help Penny escape from alien creatures, and give Judy directions while she’s searching for fuel—you might just be able to help us get off this planet.

Over and out.
Will

P.S. You can follow all of our adventures from your home planet. Just say, “Hey Google, play Lost in Space on Netflix”, to watch from your TV. (You’ll need a Netflix subscription.)