The Google Home app can do a multitude of things, and at times, its functionality can be a bit daunting. Google recently pushed out a big update for the application to make navigating its main functions a bit easier, and along with that, one of Google Home's long-running pain points has been corrected in the process.
One of the best parts of Google Home is using the smart speaker to control all of your connected light bulbs, outlets, thermostats, and more with just your voice. The Google Home app allows you to see all of the smart home gadgets that are connected to your Home speaker, and along with this, lets you give them nicknames and assign them to certain rooms. For example, saying, "Ok, Google, turn off the bedroom" will turn off any connected devices that are assigned to the bedroom.
You couldn't previously assign Google Home speakers to rooms, but this has finally been changed. If you open up the Home control section of the Google Home app, you'll now see a message prompting you to assign devices to rooms that don't currently have one. All of my regular smart devices already have assigned rooms, but as you can see in the screenshot above, my Google Home (named Living Room Home) now shows that it isn't currently assigned to a room.
This added functionality is nice to have, but what's so great about it?
Although not a game-changer, being able to assign Google Home speakers to rooms means that you can say "Ok, Google, turn off the living room" to shut off not only your smart lights at nighttime, but also your Google Home if it's playing music. It seems that Chromecasts should work in the same manner, and while we would have loved to see this added months ago, we're just glad that this addition is finally here.
