Voice assistants always fascinated me. I even made a working one by myself using a Raspberry Pi some time ago. I could ask for the weather, the news and it could even tell jokes.
When I saw how cheap there was a Google Home Mini available I immediately got one. Though, I was a bit skeptical as well: Is it only a funny gadget? Will I lose interest after a few weeks?
Without talking much around it: No. This was one of the best purchases I ever made and it can improve so many aspects of your life.
Following are features of the Google Assistant I still use on a daily base:
My wake-up-routine will turn on the radio and at the same time set the smart lights on sunrise. It's a really pleasant way to wake up and my getting out of bed immediately became so much easier.
I would buy a Google Home again for this feature alone.
I can keep my lights on all the time all the way into bed. When I'm lying in bed comfortably, I will say "Hey Google, good night" and the sleep-routine starts. First, it will turn off all the lamps and then it starts to play white noise. White noise covers any background noise and is an overall soothing sound that makes falling asleep easier. It automatically stops after 20 minutes.
One of the coolest things to use a voice assistant for is smart lights. I use the Google Assistant to control mine every day. But even without smart lights, it's a tool I definitely wouldn't want to miss out of my life ever again.
Setting a timer is quick, easy and reliable. I use it every day for pizza, noodles or when I have to leave the house. Big helper.
When I'm in a hurry and don't have a clock at my disposal or at night, asking for the time comes in really handy. Also something I make daily use of.
Depending on how you ask, the Google Assistant can give you a full-blown detailed forecast of the whole upcoming week or only the current temperature outside.
It's a very flexible command that works really well. It always understands the amount of information you want and your desired timeframe.
An especially useful feature when laying in bed and suddenly getting an important thought. You can remember it for the next day without needing to turn on the lights to write it down.
Now the features I am using a few times per week.
Google Home is perfect for quick rate conversions between currencies. I usually need it when browsing online-shops.
Feet to meters, inches to centimeters, Fahrenheit to Celsius, etc. Really helpful feature.
Asking for the height of mountains or the population size of countries is something I still use more often than I would've thought.
If I quickly need to know how long a store has still opened, consulting the Google Assistant always works like a charm.
If I quickly want an overview over something I will ask "Hey Google, what is [thing]". It usually reads the first paragraph of the Wikipedia-article or an excerpt from another website. It works well most of the time and provides a relatively good overview on the topic.
If I want to get an overview of how long it will take to get from A to B (with live traffic of course), the Google Assistant also never disappoints.
All in all, the Google Assistant is a life-changer that makes things so much easier. I can happily recommend a Google Home device to you.
