Some users can control home appliances by speaking to their Android smartphones
GE Appliances has integrated its Geneva software with Google Assistant, enabling users to query and control home appliances by talking to a Google Home device. Geneva will also work with Google’s Pixel phones and with some Android phones.
Last year, GE struck a similar deal with Amazon to allow users to Amazon Echo devices to control home appliances using the Alexa personal assistant software. Alexa users access their GE appliances by saying the word “Geneva” while Google Home users will use the words “Geneva Home.”
Wi-Fi connected sensors attached to GE appliances can tell consumers whether their laundry is clean, or if the oven has been left on. GE said consumers are especially likely to use connected appliances when they are busy multi-tasking around the house.
GE clearly intends to capitalize on connectivity in the home, but if the company wants to cover all its bases it may need to forge partnerships with Apple, Samsung and Microsoft as well as Google and Amazon. Apple gives iPhone users a way to control applications in the home by speaking to their phones, and Samsung’s Harman Kardon has just launched a voice-activated personal assistant for the home called Invoke.
Invoke, which is powered by Microsoft’s Cortana software, is integrated with Skype so that users can make hands-free phone calls using the device. It can also be used to control your smart home devices to do things like turn out the lights or control a thermostat.
