Google Home Updates Smart Light Feature but Still Receiving Pushback
Image Source: Thurrott
This week Google posted an announcement in their Nest Help Center that users can turn off their smart home lights via Google Home or Nest Hub devices with only a soft chime confirmation. Prior to the updated feature devices would respond to such commands with a sentence like, “Okay, turning off two lights.” This reply posed a problem as Google received complaints that the Google Assistant was loud and the response was unnecessary.
While the new feature demonstrates that Google is working to listen to their customers and make changes accordingly, they are still receiving negative feedback and strong suggestions. In reviewing the comments on the Google announcement, the consensus is that users want the ability to turn off all of their lights at once rather than just the lights in the room in which they say the command. Amazon Alexa currently supports the feature.
Another user expressed wanting no noise confirmation at all. “Please give us a way to turn off ALL responses! The chime is better, but there’s a number of times where NO response is highly desired. One specific use case is that I don’t want ANY response when trying to turn off the lights in the nursery while I’m trying to put baby down.”
Lenovo Smart Clock Will Also Turn Off Your Lights
Google also touched on another device update in their Google Assistant Help Center last week. They’ve partnered with Chinese technology company Lenovo to bring Google Assistant to the Lenovo Smart Clock, which will be available in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Germany and France. The original announcement was made in January of this year and the product launched in June.
The smart clock was designed with the bedroom in mind and transitions to “dark mode” while the lights are off as to not disturb sleep. Users can set up the alarm to trigger their set Google Assistant morning routine automatically. Lenovo claims that the device helps you around the clock and does more than telling time and waking you up. “Designed to reduce smartphone screen-time at night, it can help you unwind and sleep better. It can also run your smart home, play your favorite music across your home, manage your schedule, and much more.”
