Google Home’s New Routines: How to Use Them and Why They’re Awesome

The American giant is making a number of improvements to its connected home ecosystem, with the main focus being on automation. Which is clearly not to displease us.

New triggers and actions, more functions supported in routines, and more. The start of the new school year promises to be busy for those who spend a little too much time setting up their connected home.

18 new routines

Google Home got a major interface overhaul a few months ago. If it is not to everyone’s taste, this facelift had the great merit of improving routines. The application was indeed a bit behind the competition, Alexa in the lead. This aspect has however become central in the management of a connected home and the objects that go with it. The possibilities have become almost endless, provided the developers give us the means.

Google is doing just that by announcing no less than 18 new Routines, available in the next version of Google Home, which is already rolling out worldwide. These routines include the management of more types of devices and their functions, and allow you to set up automations that you might not have thought of at first, but which turn out to be very good ideas.

Even more automation

The American giant has provided us with a list of these new routines, which consists of 9 new triggers and 9 new actions, of which here are some of the best examples:

• Open/close: when the window is opened, the thermostat turns off;
• Temperature: when the interior temperature exceeds a certain threshold, the fan is activated and the windows open;
• Pause: when the TV is paused, the lights in the room can be dimmed, and vice versa;
• Occupancy detection: when a person is detected in a certain area or room, the lights turn on;
• Impulse: when the front doorbell is rung, the light in one or more rooms begins to flash;
• Anchoring device: when the user returns home, their robot vacuum cleaner automatically returns to its base;
• Opening or closing device: windows, doors or blinds open or close at set times.

These additions will appear where current Routines can already be found in the Google Home app. For those who are not yet too keen on automation, you will have to press the “Auto actions” icon at the bottom of the screen, then go to “Add”, and finally choose the triggers and actions that interest you.

It’s possible that not all connected devices in your home will be immediately supported in these new routines. It will certainly take some time for Google, Nest and partner manufacturers to get up to speed. However, hopefully everyone will play along, as it will centralize a bit more functionality on the Google Home app. This will reduce the need to go to different applications related to your objects and cause a few fewer headaches. Provided that your connected speakers and Google Home are not too capricious.

Sources: Engadget, Google