Google Home is rolling out an update that addresses some of the most overlooked pain points for the voice assistant, like refined broadcast commands, better Spotify request recognition, and granular smart light color temperature control down to the kelvin. Don’t be shy; we all have a favorite kelvin rating.
Google has been rolling out quality Home updates in a steady stream recently. Most of the updates focus on improvements to Gemini for Home and the polish that’s needed since it’s still stuck in early access. Today’s update, though, is bringing some solid changes to issues that have plagued even the lightest Google Home users.
The August 20 update includes three changes to the Google Home voice assistant – Gemini. First, Spotify command recognition has reportedly been cleaned up. Google says it’s “improved how [it] recognize[s] the songs, artists, and playlists you request on Spotify.” For the seasoned Google Home users, requests for certain songs have always been a little hit or miss. Further, general voice commands often get mistaken for music requests, and random tunes begin to play at an uncomfortable volume. Hopefully, this update lessens that occurrence.
Changes to how broadcasts are handled is packed into the changelog, too. Google notes that broadcasts will now be a two-step process. You ask for Gemini to broadcast a message, wait, then let it know what the message is. Much better than the one-line request prone to miscommunication.
The last voice assistant change will make the color temperature nerds happy. Google Home will now recognize voice commands with specific color temperature requests. You can say “Hey Google, set the living room lights to 2700 kelvins,” and you’ll get an accurate color shift. This has always been an option in the app, but not something easily done with voice controls. You may need to learn color temperature ratings by heart.
The changelog adds that several adjustments are taking place in the app, like consistent temperature unit of measurements across all devices. European-style door locks are gaining support, as well.
Google says there should be fewer app crashes on iOS devices and better offline camera controls that remain consistent during connection issues. This comes after Google recently added support for more third-party cameras.
On Android, the update fixes an issue where camera streams could get stuck at 360p. If the connection allows, affected cameras should stream at full resolution.
Lastly, failed payments for Google Home Premium will result in a clear alert, so there isn’t a lapse in features or camera storage.
Google’s August 20 update for Google Home should be rolling out to users starting today.
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