Google Home
By MacRumors Staff on September 3, 2025
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Google Home How Tos
How to Listen to Apple Music on a Google Home Mini or Nest Audio Speaker
Wednesday January 12, 2022 9:45 am PST by Tim Hardwick
When Apple Music first launched in 2015, playing it on anything other than an Apple device was impossible. Thankfully though, over the years Apple has made its streaming service available to access through third-party devices and speakers, including Amazon Echo and Google-owned speakers. This article focuses on Google devices.
If you have a Google Home mini or a newer Nest-branded smart...
Google Home Articles
Google's Gemini for Home Starts Rolling Out on October 1
Wednesday September 3, 2025 9:07 am PDT by Hartley Charlton
Google has confirmed that Gemini for Home, its generative AI-powered replacement for Google Assistant, will begin rolling out on October 1 through an early access program, marking a major upgrade to its smart home platform and highlighting Apple's slower progress in deploying similar AI technology for Siri.
At the Made by Google 2025 event, the company announced that Gemini for Home will be...
Apple, Amazon, Google, and Zigbee Alliance Standard for Smart Home Technology on Track for 2021 Release
Tuesday September 8, 2020 10:17 am PDT by Hartley Charlton
Last year, Apple, Amazon, Google, and the Zigbee Alliance, which includes Ikea, Samsung, and Philips, announced a new working group known as "Project Connected Home over IP" that set about developing an IP-based open-source connectivity standard for smart home products, with a focus on increased compatibility, security, and simplified development for manufacturers. The group has today announced a ...
Amazon Continues to Dominate U.S. Smart Speaker Market
Monday February 10, 2020 12:52 pm PST by Juli Clover
Amazon's Echo speakers continue to be the most popular smart speakers in the United States, and will remain in the dominant spot through at least 2021, according to new smart speaker user estimates shared today by eMarketer (via TechCrunch).
An estimated 69.7 percent of U.S. smart speaker users will use an Amazon Echo product in 2020, a number that's down slightly from the estimated 72.9...
Google Brings Free Ad-Supported YouTube Music Streaming to Google Assistant Speakers
Friday April 19, 2019 3:57 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
In lockstep with Amazon, Google has announced a free, ad-supported music streaming option for use with smart speakers that feature its voice-activated assistant.
The new "free" streaming tier means owners of Google Home or other Google Assistant-powered speakers can listen to tracks from the YouTube Music catalog, albeit interspersed with ads.
Listening to music on your Google Home speaker ...
Spotify Offering UK Family Plan Subscribers a Free Google Home Mini Speaker
Monday March 18, 2019 4:22 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Spotify on Monday began offering all premium Family plan subscribers in the U.K. a free Google Home Mini smart speaker.
From today, both new and existing family plan subscribers can claim their free Google speaker, worth £49, simply by heading to the Spotify website. The offer ends on 14 May 2019.
Spotify's premium family plan costs £14.99 per month and allows up to six people to access...
Google Says Bug Caused Apple Music to Appear in Google Home App [Updated]
Wednesday February 27, 2019 8:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple Music's brief appearance in the Google Home app earlier this week was due to a software bug, a Google spokesperson confirmed to Bloomberg.
Specifically, we've been told that the Google Assistant and Google Home apps share various settings for music services. Due to a bug, Google opened up the Apple Music setting more broadly than it intended, including to Google Home app users.
In ...
Apple Music Integration Possibly Coming to Google Home Devices [Updated]
Monday February 25, 2019 7:15 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple Music may be soon be available as an option on Google Home devices, according to an image that was shared by MacRumors reader Jason.
We were able to track down the Apple Music listing within the Google Home app for iOS devices, but at the current time, it can't be linked to a Google Home device.
In previous versions of Google's software, Apple Music was listed in a separate...
HomePod Estimated to Have Just 4% Market Share Worldwide Despite 45% Sales Growth Last Quarter
Tuesday February 19, 2019 8:13 am PST by Joe Rossignol
HomePod shipments totaled 1.6 million units in the fourth quarter of 2018, a 45 percent increase on a year-over-year basis, according to Strategy Analytics. Despite the growth, the research firm estimates that Apple's share of the worldwide smart speaker market was just 4.1 percent during the quarter.
By comparison, Amazon and Google commanded the market with an estimated 13.7 million and...
Google Planning to Launch Echo Show-Like Smart Speaker With Touch Screen Later This Year
Friday August 17, 2018 5:35 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Google entered the smart speaker market in 2016 with the introduction of Google Home, allowing users to speak to Google Assistant and control various smart home products, listen to music, get the news, and more. Eventually, Google added the Home Mini and Home Max to the lineup, introducing products that were direct competitors to the Amazon Echo Dot and Apple HomePod, respectively.
Looking...
Smart Speaker Survey States iPhone Owners 22 Percent More Likely to Buy Speakers, Favor Amazon Over Google
Wednesday March 7, 2018 9:34 am PST by Mitchel Broussard
In January, Voicebot.ai surveyed 1,057 Americans over the age of 18 regarding their ownership or interest in smart speakers, and today the researchers have published their final report with the results. While the data precedes Apple's entry into the market with HomePod in February, it does include a few points of data regarding iPhone/iOS users and their interest in smart speakers, prevalent long ...
Smart Speaker Showdown: HomePod vs. Google Home Max vs. Sonos One
Tuesday February 20, 2018 11:08 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple's new HomePod is late to the smart speaker market, which is already crowded with speakers from companies like Amazon, Google, and Sonos. The latter two companies, Google and Sonos, have released speakers with high-quality sound and robust voice assistants, giving the HomePod some serious competition.
We decided to pit Apple's $349 HomePod against both the $399 Google Home Max, which...
Google Home Mini Firmware Update Reinstates Touch Controls Previously Disabled Over Privacy Concerns
Saturday December 9, 2017 5:13 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Google's Home Mini smart speaker received an update on Friday that brings back some of the touch-based controls that the company had to disable shortly after its release back in October (via AndroidPolice).
Google was forced to turn off the built-in touch panel, which is designed to let users activate Google Assistant with a long press instead of a voice command, after a reviewer discovered...
Google Disables Malfunctioning Home Mini Feature That Could Cause Non-Stop Recording [Updated]
Tuesday October 10, 2017 4:49 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Google recently disabled a feature included in its upcoming Google Home Mini smart speaker after a reviewer found that it was causing the device to record conversations and sounds even when no "OK Google" prompt word was spoken.
As detailed by Android Police's Artem Russakovskii, who received a Google Home Mini test unit last week, the device was malfunctioning due to an issue with the...
Upcoming 'Google Home Mini' Smart Speaker Details and Images Leaked
Wednesday September 20, 2017 3:37 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
We've previously covered rumors that Google has been working on a "mini" version of its $129 Google Home smart speaker, which is expected to be unveiled at the company's Pixel 2 smartphone event scheduled for October 4. But it looks as if details and images of the "Home Mini" have already been leaked, courtesy of DroidLife.
According to the tech site, Google Home Mini is the official name of...
Enhancements Coming to Google Assistant Set to Rival Siri Improvements in iOS 11
Sunday September 10, 2017 12:23 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
In the run-up to the official release of iOS 11 this month, much of Apple's focus has been on touted improvements coming to its built-in virtual assistant, Siri. Apart from becoming more naturally spoken, Siri will allow users to get real-time translation between select languages and is said to boast a greater understanding of the user's needs dependent on circumstance and time of day, with the...
New Google Chromebook and Google Home 'Mini' Could Debut Alongside Pixel 2 Phones
Tuesday August 22, 2017 2:06 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Google will launch an all-new Pixel-branded Chromebook and a miniaturized version of its Google Home smart speaker alongside new Pixel smartphones at an event this fall, according to a source familiar with the company's plans.
Details are scant on the new Pixel notebook, which will revive the Chromebook line after two years of inactivity, but AndroidPolice suggests it could be the fruition of...
Google Home Owners Can Now Stream Songs They Uploaded to Play Music
Thursday July 13, 2017 1:51 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Google has updated its Home smart speaker software so that owners can now listen to music they have uploaded to and purchased on Google Play Music.
Previously, using a free Play Music account through Google Home was limited to playing radio stations, while paying subscribers could listen to tracks in the streaming service's own online catalog. But now both types of account holders can also...
Google I/O 2017: Assistant on iOS, Bluetooth Streaming on Google Home, and Easy Sharing With Photos
Wednesday May 17, 2017 11:50 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Google today kicked off its annual I/O developer conference in Mountain View, California, beginning with a keynote where the company announced Google Assistant for iPhone, new Google Home features including the ability to stream Apple Music via Bluetooth, and new photo sharing features in Google Photos.
Google Assistant on iOS
As it was rumored earlier this week, Google today announced that...
Apple's Echo-Like Smart Speaker With Siri and AirPlay Could Debut as Early as WWDC
Friday April 28, 2017 7:41 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple is widely rumored to be working on a Siri-based smart home device with a speaker, and Australian leaker Sonny Dickson has shared new details about its possible design and features on Twitter and with MacRumors.
Apple's smart speaker could take design cues from the Google Home
Dickson said that Apple is currently "finalizing designs" for the Amazon Echo and Google Home competitor, which...
Google Home Smart Speaker Now Supports Multiple Users
Friday April 21, 2017 12:20 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Google Home received a major update to its voice recognition system on Thursday that lets owners set up the smart speaker to recognize multiple account holders.
The software update means that up to six people can connect their Google account to one speaker and Google Assistant will be able to distinguish users by the sound of their voice. Amazon is said to be working on a similar feature for...
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