Google isn’t ruling out making a Google Home speaker with a screen

The JBL Link View is one of the third-party Google Assistant-enabled speakers

Before you wonder if Google is thinking on letting third-party manufacturers occupy the space of Google Assistant-enabled speakers with display, we’re here to set the record straight, sort of. Google’s VP of home products Rishi Chandra said in an interview with Variety that the company isn’t completely ruling out developing a Google Home device that comes with a screen. He says, “It’s an emerging category. I’m not saying we are not going to do it.” Having a display on a Google Home speaker would help enhance the experience of using it. You’ll be able to see the map, if you’re asking for directions or check your calendar, among other things. But it’s too early to say when this might happen or if it really will. And if Google will tie in exclusive features to their homegrown product. What it means for consumers though is one more option to consider.  

Source: CNET

Google Assistant can now control Philips Hue scenes

Before you ask, yes, Google Assistant does support Philips Hue lights. But it didn’t have the ability to control preset scenes like with the Amazon Alexa or Hue apps—until today, that is. This means, you can now ask Assistant to adjust the lights based on the scenes you’ve set up in the Hue app. However, you might need to remove and re-add your Hue lights to Assistant or sync them to get this to work.

Source: 9to5Google

Google Assistant adds dedicated Purchases page

If you want to check on Purchases you’ve made through Google Assistant, you can now check that through a dedicated page on either the Assistant settings or through the More settings option on the Google Home app. This doesn’t mean all purchases made through Google will be logged here, though. As Android Police speculates, you would need to have made the purchases through Assistant for it to show up on this page. And if you do a lot of shopping with Assistant, you might find more use for this page.

Google Home now lets you set location-based reminders

The latest Google Home update will now let you tell it to set location-specific reminders. You can prompt it with things like “Hey Google, set a reminder to pick up more coffee at the grocery store.” If your location services are on, you’ll get a reminder once you arrive at the place you set, like the aforementioned grocery store. You can even be more specific and ask for Google Home to remind you of a specific store, like say a Starbucks, and it’ll alert you if it finds you in any Starbucks. This gives Assistant an advantage over Siri because you need to specify a specific location to get the reminder. This feature is available for both Android and iOS devices.

Source: Android Authority