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LG and GE add Google Assistant support to fridges, washers, ovens, and more

LG and GE add Google Assistant support to fridges, washers, ovens, and more

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Google Home

Google said today that we’re going to start seeing appliances show up with support for the Google Assistant, and two companies are already launching integrations: LG and GE.

Both companies are updating their existing lines of connected appliances so that they can be controlled through the Google Home and Assistant. Supported appliances including fridges, ovens, washers and dryers, an air purifier from LG, and an air conditioner and water heater from GE.

Amazon beat Google to this type of integration

This doesn’t mean you’ll be able to speak directly to these appliances to control them, however. You’ll still have to use one of the existing Google Assistant interfaces — your phone or a Google Home — but they’ll be able to handle commands that you had to open up LG’s or GE’s app to handle in the past.

That said, the experience sounds slightly awkward, since you’ll have to be very specific in your requests to the Google Assistant. With GE, for instance, you’ll have to say “OK Google, ask Geneva Home if the dishes are clean,” since Geneva Home is the name of its connected app. It’d be simpler if you could just ask, “Are the dishes clean?” How many dishwashers could you possibly be trying to check, anyway?

LG says it’ll begin rolling out support for the Assistant this month. GE says its support will launch today.

While this is an important get for Google, it isn’t breaking new ground here. GE has already had Alexa support on all of these appliances, and LG even launched a fridge with built-in Alexa that you can speak to.

During a presentation at the I/O conference today, Google said that we’ll start to see “Google Assistant Built In” badges on supported products. A slide in the presentation said we’ll start to see support from Sony, Panasonic, Onkyo, and other familiar appliance brands:

Google Assistant built in supporting brands
Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge