Articles about Google Assistant

TP-Link has introduced a new way to upgrade your front door without spending a fortune. The company has launched the Tapo DL100, a smart deadbolt door lock that offers a surprising mix of features for an affordable price.

Unlike other smart locks that hide essential functions behind a paywall or require complicated setups, the DL100 keeps things simple and accessible. You can unlock your door using the Tapo mobile app over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

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Just when you thought outdoor lighting couldn’t possibly get any more interesting, GE Lighting launches its Cync Dynamic Effects Smart Café Lights. These new string lights are officially on sale just in time for backyard weather. If you’ve been itching to upgrade your deck or garden, it might be worth a look.

Forget those boring bulbs you might remember from your last barbecue, folks. These café lights use a unique corkscrew filament to put out bold, saturated color. Each bulb can be customized individually using the Cync app, so you can get creative and mix up patterns, colors, or brightness for any event. There’s even a music-sync feature that lets the lights react to whatever is playing, whether you’re throwing a summer party or just winding down after a long day.

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Google Assistant is being consigned to history. Almost a decade after it first launched, Google’s voice-activated digital assistant will be replaced by Gemini, Google’s updated AI-powered assistant.

If you’re an existing user of Google Assistant, you will no doubt have noticed the offer of switching to Gemini. While this has been, and remains for now, an optional switch, soon there will be no choice -- it will be Gemini all the way.

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Google's chat-based AI tool Bard, launched last year, has been rebranded as Gemini. Google says that this is the most capable of its AI tools to date. So what does the change from poet to star sign deliver?

The Gemini Pro 1.0 model is available in over 40 languages and more than 230 countries and territories. Thee are also two new additions -- Gemini Advanced and a mobile app-- to make it easier to collaborate with Google AI.

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Tapo, a TP-Link brand, launches three new Matter-certified devices today. The Tapo Mini Smart Wi-Fi Plug, Tapo Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch, and Tapo Smart Wi-Fi Dimmer Light Switch offer compatibility with all-certified smart home platforms, convenient LAN control, and multi-admin capability.

Matter brings a new level of convenience with smooth LAN control, enabling seamless communication between Matter-certified devices within a local area network, even if the home internet is offline. This direct device-to-device communication eliminates the reliance on specific forwarding devices or cloud services, ensuring a robust and reliable smart home ecosystem.

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About a year ago, we told you that Google was partnering with some hotels to have Nest Hub smart devices installed in guest rooms. Understandably, some people were concerned about having a microphone and camera in their hotel rooms.

However, those worries were unfounded. You see, Nest Hub doesn't even have a camera! Plus, Google is extremely focused on privacy, and the microphone can be totally disabled with a hardware switch. Ultimately, this hospitality partnership was simply a big win for hotel guests as they get to experience the convenience of Google Assistant when away from home.

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Yeah, I know, 2020 sucks. We have all seen the memes about how it has been a terrible year. Sadly, we have lost more than 300 thousand Americans to the deadly COVID-19 virus, and many people have suffered financially as a result of business shutdowns. It is terrible and tragic. With that said, at least the 2020 presidential election went well, as the best candidate, Joe Biden, defeated the much-maligned Donald Trump in a landslide victory.

Understandably, many folks are eager for 2020 to go away, and with New Year's Eve fast approaching, there are sure to be many celebrations to ring in 2021. If you want to get your 2021 partying started early, I have some great news -- Google Assistant has a secret 'New Year Song' that is absolutely adorable.

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My first experience with a home voice assistance was Amazon Echo. You know what? It was life changing. While asking Alexa questions was neat, the real value was linking it to my smart home devices. It may not seem like a big deal in 2020, but the first time I turned on a lamp with my voice it was magical. Over time, I mostly transitioned to Google Home, however, as I found the search giant's assistant to be superior.

Not to mention, I fell in love with the Nest Hub -- a hardware assistant that I keep on my nightstand next to my bed. I trust it in my bedroom as it doesn't have a camera, but I digress. As a YouTube TV subscriber, I can even watch the TV service on the 7-inch screen, but I really don't. Why? Because I have a larger TV in the same room. That's why today's news that you can watch Netflix on Nest Hub and Hub Max doesn't really excite me. Is there a legitimate scenario where someone would use one of those devices to regularly watch Netflix video?

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Chrissy Teigen is an absolute delight. She is wildly popular, not only from her modeling, but from her wonderful social media accounts too. Apparently, her husband is rather famous as well. Teigen's spouse, named John Legend, is a notable singer and pianist.

Likely thanks to his marriage to Chrissy Teigen, Legend scored a pretty cool partnership with Google, lending his voice to Google Assistant. In other words, when summoning Google Assistant, you can be greeted by Chrissy Teigen's husband's voice. Sadly, this is coming to an end, as the search giant announces the partnership concludes later this month.

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Here's the deal, folks. I'm a New Yorker, so I am, by default, a coffee expert. While Starbucks isn't terrible, it isn't great either. True coffee connoisseurs know there are only two places to get some proper brew -- 7 Eleven and Dunkin' Donuts. The former is the best for those that like to add milk/sugar themselves, while the latter is ideal for those that trust the workers to add those extras. I go to both, but generally prefer Dunkin' since they have a drive through.

If you are a caffeine fan like me, and you get your daily coffee fix from Dunkin', I have some amazing news. Starting today, you can order your coffee through Google Assistant. Unfortunately, there is a big catch.

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While I am a big fan of watching films, I absolutely detest doing so at the cinema these days. Look, if I decide to dedicate my valuable time to watching a movie, I demand absolute silence and no distractions so I can experience proper immersion. Nowadays, people don't respect the movie-going experience -- they are on their smartphones, talking, and eating smelly food. Humans are disgusting and it can be an absolute nightmare. Worst of all, it is a very expensive affair -- I feel like a sucker spending a fortune only to be miserable in the theater.

But OK, some folks still love going to the the movie theater. If that's you, I have some pretty cool news. Starting today, you can now purchase movie tickets with Google Assistant on Chrome. That is an undeniably cool thing, but sadly, it is Android-only for now. Apple iPhone users cannot join this party.

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I recently converted my home from Amazon Alexa to Google Assistant. Why did I do this? Well, after comparing them both, I found Google's results were better. Not to mention, there are many nuances that make me prefer the search giant's offering. For instance, if I ask for a baseball score, it also shares the sound of a crowd cheering and the crack of the bat hitting a ball. I even prefer the confirmation sounds it makes. When I ask Google to turn off my lamp, for instance, it responds with a more pleasant tone than Alexa does. And so, my Echo devices were replaced with Nest speakers.

Sadly, there was a huge hole left in my life by ditching Amazon for Google -- SiriusXM. You see, with Alexa, you can ask her to play a SiriusXM channel and she does (as long as your account is linked, of course). This convenient feature simply wasn't possible on Google Assistant. Today, however, this changes -- Howard Stern and the rest of SiriusXM are finally coming to Google's Nest speakers! There are even plans to eventually bring video to some Nest devices.

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Yesterday's Made By Google event was primarily about the launch of the Pixel 4, the Pixelbook Go, and a range of Nest devices -- but there were a few extra bits and pieces to get excited about.

At the New York event, Google spoke about the second generation of Google Assistant, promising greater speed and more functionality than before. There's also a new look to the digital assistant.

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Amazon has been putting its voice assistant Alexa into as many devices as it can dream up, leaving Google trailing in its wake. Two years ago, the search giant announced its Amazon Echo Dot competitor, called the Home Mini, and today at its Made by Google ’19 event it debuted that device’s successor.

Nest Mini -- Google is rebranding its home hardware with the Nest name -- comes with an upgraded Google Assistant, and twice the bass. That’s not all though.

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Google is bringing the vocal talent of actress and comedian Issa Rae to Google Assistant.

As with the John Legend voicing, Rae is only making a cameo as an Assistant Voice, and will only speak up in response to certain commands and queries. She can be found piping up on iOS and Android handsets, as well other devices that support Google Assistant such as Next Hub and Google Home smartspeakers.

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