Google Assistant Now Works With More Than 5,000 Smart Home Devices

Google will be holding its annual I/O conference next week and it’s already giving its voice Assistant a big push just before the upcoming event. The company announced today that Google Assistant is now able to work with 5,000 smart home devices.

“Over the past year, we’ve made great progress ensuring that the Google Assistant can work with all types of connected devices, and now every major device brand works with the Assistant in the U.S.,” the company said in a blog post. “Today, the Google Assistant can connect with more than 5,000 devices for your home—up from 1,500 this January. That includes cameras, dishwashers, doorbells, dryers, lights, plugs, thermostats, security systems, switches, vacuums, washers, fans, locks, sensors, heaters, AC units, air purifiers, refrigerators, ovens … we can keep on going!”

The number of smart home devices that can work with Google Assistant is also expected to grow even further in the coming months. The company will most likely announce additional brand partners during its I/O conference. But later this month, Google Assistant will also work with set top boxes and remotes, including Dish’s Hopper line of receivers and Logitech’s Harmony hub-based remotes.

Smart home brands that will be compatible with Google Assitant in the near future include Nest, IKEA, First Alert, Vivint Smart Home, August, Schlage, Panasonic home security, Xiaomi lights, Deutsche Telekom Magenta hub, ADT, Hunter Douglas, select Hisense TVs, Arlo security cameras and new LG appliances. Once Google Assistant compatibility arrives for these devices, users will be able to control all of the devices through Google Assistant voice commands on their Android phones or Google Home speakers.

“Just say ‘Hey Google, play ESPN on the Hopper’ to your Google Assistant and your TV will automatically tune to the right channel. It’ll also be even easier to control home entertainment using Logitech Harmony hub-based remotes with the Google Assistant. The new, simplified voice commands will let you go directly to your favorite channels, control volume, or pause a show,” Google said.

Google appears to be trying to catch up with the smart home capabilities of Alexa on the Amazon Echo speakers. However, it seems like Amazon is still in the lead. IHS market analyst Blake Kozak estimates that Amazon Alexa is able to work across 11,200 smart home devices in 2017, as pointed out by CNET.

It’s clear that Google wants Assistant to continue to improve and expand its capabilities, which is why the company is also investing in startups to make it happen faster. Just yesterday, the company announced that it’s opening a new investment program for early-stage startups to help in broadening Google Assistant’s features.