Google Home is already way further than I thought with smart home automation. Forget Siri, forget Alexa, they had a market edge until recently. But Google has gone up and over in one year. Especially now that all kinds of manufacturers have adopted the Google Assistant technology and are making applications.
At first glance and at first use, it is mainly a nice gimmick. But once you start to understand how the artificial intelligence of the Google ear works in the Internet, you will discover that the Google Assistant can already do a lot for you. Kneading the dough with your hands, and forgot something about the recipe? Ask with "Hey Google" and the smart speaker will tell you. In a discussion with friends where you miss or dispute a fact? Ask it, for example "Okay Google, how many inhabitants does France have?" And the Google Assistant flawlessly spoons the answer for you. It is also striking how much fun children find the question and answer game. They're suddenly asking all kinds of things where I'm like, "OK Google, "how big is the Earth?" And "Hey Google, who are you?" And how old are you Google?" The Google Assistant answers flawlessly. A (bland) joke will also tell Google if you want to.
Google often answers a question with "I don't know how I can help you with this yet". I've learned that that doesn't necessarily mean that Google can't be helpful yet. I discovered this because I often got that response when I wanted to control a smart switch or a WiFi-controlled LED strip, while I was sure that Google could control it. But a command I programmed as "Hey Google, table lamp on" responds perfectly to a repetition of exactly that phrase, but does not respond well to "Hey Google, turn on the table lamp" while the politely worded version "Hey Google may table lamp on " or "Hey Google, table lamp on please" respond perfectly. Apparently the self-learning algorithm of the Google Assistant is still a bit picky. So choose your commands carefully and explore through the Internet what can be done with Google Assistant and you will find that there is already an incredible amount if you stick to the code of conduct and the ever-growing possibilities of Google Home and you will hear less and less "I don't know how I can help you with this yet."
If you start programming with tools such as IFTTT commands, then the possibilities and the natural speech character of the conversation suddenly become much greater. The learning curve of Google Home Assistant is suddenly a lot bigger. I have to remember which commands I can say and how they are followed. Especially when combined with all kinds of smart power strips, wall switches, lamps, kitchen appliances, TV and computer, etc. I find that I have to get used to the Assistant, just like the Assistant's algorithm has to get used to me. But all in all, this small speaker gives the feeling of a long future with many more possibilities.
Don't see the speaker too much as a music device, the sound is okay, even very good for speech applications, and you can of course just play a Spotify playlist on it, but it is primarily intended for information processing. If you have higher demands for entertainment, take a look at the larger Google Home speaker or even better, stream to a good HiFi system. For smart home applications, on the other hand, the small Google Home speaker is an unprecedented amount of value for money.
And about privacy, well, we will undoubtedly be able to have very interesting discussions there. My advice is to handle the device with the awareness that you need to protect your own privacy if necessary. So turn off the speaker for a while if you think it's necessary at that moment. Just like you may not want to just type every search query into your search engine,... Anyway, I do know that I am definitely stepping into smart home developments with full conviction and don't want to miss my Google Home speaker for anything anymore.
