19 August, 2017
Amazon, Samsung, and Microsoft already have smart speakers with calling capabilities and there are hopes that Apple will soon do the same with its Home Pod speaker.
"We are incredibly excited that, from today, millions of Spotify's free users will be able to enjoy Spotify in their homes through voice-activated speakers for the very first time, thanks to the Assistant on Google Home", Mikael Ericsson, Spotify's product director for platform and partner experience, said in a statement. Originally revealed back in May, the new feature is now rolling out in the USA and Canada, where users can call personal contacts and local businesses for free. Whether it be scheduling appointments or starting a vehicle, Google Home can do it all. Another thing to note is that Google Home, like other Internet-based services, will not support emergency calls.
The latest update to hit the Google Home has added the ability to make calls through the smart speaker. The Home will also recognise an individual's voice and access that particular account. The article in the Financial Post points out that it will be possible to ask the smart speaker to call someone in your Google accounts contact lists or to ask it to search for a specific or nearby business.
Once you decide to unpair a device from the settings you'll find a new voice command for enabling pairing "Ok Google, Pair a device" however my Google Home isn't accepting this command yet, telling me "Sorry, I don't understand".
Presently, the recipient of your Google Home call won't be able to see your phone number unless you are subscribed to Google's Project Fi.
