Smart home geeks, this one is for you.
Here’s a list of things you can say to your Google Assistant, to tell your Logitech Harmony range to do. Because only plebs use light switches. Or remote controls. Wait.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2017/05/google-assistant-will-kill-us-all/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/google117-410×231.png” title=”Google Assistant Will Kill Us All” excerpt=”If you’re afraid of artificial intelligence and remain convinced that robots will kill us all.
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You can use:
- Google Assistant on Google Home
- not-heaps-old Android phones
- not-heaps-old iPhones
Woohoo!
“Voice has a powerful role in simplifying our home entertainment experience and people across the world continue to enjoy this,” said Rory Dooley, head of Logitech Smart Home.
“We are focused on bringing even more hands-free control experiences to customers, so we’re very excited to introduce this latest integration with the Google Assistant to Australia. It truly makes home entertainment even more seamless and fun.”
Okay, so what can you actually do now, with the Harmony range?
Well, you use Google Assistant to launch Activities from your Harmony remote with the usual “Ok Google, ask Harmony to turn on my TV” kind of commands. We’re talking visual, audio, lights – whatever you have your hub-based Harmony remote hooked up to.
Want more examples? Here’s a list.
“Ok Google, ask Harmony to..”
- “…turn on Netflix” (this will directly launch channels like Netflix on your Roku device)
- “…turn on SBS or Ten” (any of your favorite channels set up in a Harmony account can be triggered)
- “…turn on my ‘Good Morning’ Activity (get your mind out of the gutter – when you set up an Activity such as “Good Morning” in your Harmony account, you can set Philips Hue lights to warm colors, turn on the TV, and play music from your Sonos speakers)
- “…mute the TV” (mute, raise, and lower the volume)
- “…go to channel number 15” (the Google Assistant and Logitech Harmony let you to directly change to the channel you want)
If you’re even lazier (this is me) you can even skip “ask Harmony to” through Google Assistant shortcuts. You can find a whole bunch more info on that here.
Oh, and if you don’t have one already – you can get a Logitech Harmony Elite for $449.95 online. It’s…not cheap. But it does make you feel very fancy.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2017/08/google-home-australian-review/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/GoogleHome_black2-410×231.jpg” title=”Google Home: Australian Review” excerpt=”Google’s always-listening smart home speaker is finally in Australia. But do you need one?”]