The Google Home app now allows users to pair a Google Home device with their Bluetooth speakers, which they can then control with voice commands.
This feature has been possible for a while now with the use of a Chromecast Audio streamer that plugs into a speaker. Through this tool, the Home assistant is able to control it with the user's commands. Now, Google has eliminated the middle man and now allows a Home device to connect directly to the speaker.
Google Home Now Compatible With Non-Google Bluetooth Speakers
When a Bluetooth speaker is paired, Home automatically uses it to play music, podcasts, and audiobooks. Users can pair more than one speaker, which will enable the Assistant to output audio to rooms where there's no Home device. In relation to that, Google has a little reminder for people: this does not make the Bluetooth speaker a smart gadget.
"Note you'll still need to talk to your Google Home device — not the connected Bluetooth speakers — for queries like asking questions, getting weather updates and using smart home commands," the company stated in its announcement.
How To Set Up Bluetooth Speakers With Google Home
To start issuing voice commands to the Bluetooth speaker, users must pair it with Google Home first. To do that, they must have the Google Home app, where pairing instructions will be in the Device Settings.
After successfully pairing the devices, users can start ordering the smart assistant to turn up the volume or even shuffle the playlist. Via the app, people can associate the speaker with rooms or add it to a group to have the audio follow them around the house, provided that they have multiple speakers scattered in different rooms.
While users can pair more than a few speakers, the audio output goes to only one at a time. Currently, a Home device won't be able to blast music in two or more speakers at once, but that's something that fans are hoping will change in the near future.
If the owner so chooses, they can also make the Bluetooth speaker the default speaker for the Home. Doing this, the Google Assistant will respond through the designated speaker and not through the Home device.
Google hasn't divulged which Bluetooth speakers are compatible yet. However, the company assures that the selection is broad, as compatibility is not exclusive to Chromecast-enabled speakers. On the other hand, any device in the Home family, including the Google Home Mini, has this feature.
