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The battle for the King of smart-home assistants is heating up and the newcomer, Google Home, just landed an uppercut that gives it a decisive edge over all other contenders.
In a move previewed earlier this month, Google Home has officially added multi-user support. According to the Keyword Blog, the update will begin rolling out to users in the U.S. this week with the United Kingdom following in the coming months.
Google Assistant Product Manager Yury Pinsky shares:
When you connect your account on a Google Home, we ask you to say the phrases “Ok Google” and “Hey Google” two times each. Those phrases are then analyzed by a neural network, which can detect certain characteristics of a person’s voice.
— The Keyword
Setup
First, ensure you have the latest version on the Google Home app on your mobile device. Open up your app and navigate to the connected devices section. From there click on your Google Home. You should be greeted with a new notification stating “multi-user is available.”
Once you’ve chosen to “link account”, each new user will be walked through training the Assistant to recognize your voice. Up to six users can be added to the Google Home device.
Now your smart assistant will be able to personalize your experience by offering content from your account’s calendar, music, news and more.
This is a huge step for Google Home and connected devices. Although Amazon’s Echo is still leading the way in available commands and connected things, Home is expanding rapidly and the addition of multi-user functionality gives it a serious advantage.
Lastly, if security concerns you, Pisky goes on to say that “this (voice) comparison takes place only on your device, in a matter of milliseconds.” That means the voice recognition is happening locally on your Google Home device. No servers, no third party, just you, your family and your Assistant.
Having Issues?
With all the new features rapidly showing up for the Google Home, you may be running into issues here and there. For that, we’ve found a great resource to help you troubleshoot the daily problems you might encounter. Head over to Joy of Android to check that out!
Source: Google
