Google Home has been on the market for several months now, and the debate between Amazon Echo owners and Google Home aficionados remains fierce. Naturally, Google’s smart speaker features fewer applications than Amazon’s Alexa-enabled devices, namely because it’s only been on the market for a short time.
More: What smart home devices work with Google Home? Here’s everything announced so far
Nonetheless, many Google Home owners still believe that, in the long run, Google Home will prove to be a more robust platform than Alexa. Interest rose considerably in the device when Google launched Actions, a platform that allows third-party developers to create reply-based actions via Google Assistant, which is the engine that drives the smart speaker. It’s a welcome change for a company that has long rejected Apple’s “walled garden” approach to app development.
When it comes to using the device, there’s still a lot it can’t do. But it’s learning. Here are just a few of Google Home’s most useful skills.
Automate your life with Tasker, Todoist, IFTTT, Wonder, and AutoVoice
If you took a brain scan of any Google-minded developer in December, you’d see their synapses firing up to connect the dots. One of the most useful facets of Google Home is its ability to pair with other tools, applets, and apps, which allows you to create custom commands for a variety of tasks. It’s also easy to find tutorials that demonstrate how to use the free applet creation software, IFTTT (If This, Then That), to create custom commands that can then be integrated into Google Assistant’s Tasker productivity app (Android, $3) or AutoVoice, a useful Tasker plugin. Just glancing at the Google applets will reveal a medley of skills, some of which will allow you to track your work hours in Google Calendar or back up your texts to a Google spreadsheet.
AutoVoice lets you create voice commands that trigger different responses from Google Home. Setup and getting started takes a bit of work and practice, but the results are worth it. You will need an Android device, though.
IFTTT and Tasker offer great workarounds for things Google Home can’t do on its own yet, but the speaker does have some native capabilities. Unlike with Alexa, Google Home has its abilities activated by default, so you don’t have to set them up. For some, like Todoist, you’ll still need to link your account. Ask Google to talk to Wonder, and you’ll be greeted by a different voice. You can then tell it to remember your gate code or sister’s birthday. Whenever you talk to Wonder again, you can ask to have the information recited back to you.