Remember when there was a time when you actually had to get out of bed to turn off the lights? Similar to when getting out of your car to open or close the garage door, kids these days will never understand what it was like to live in a world of no technology.
Not to say that I miss those days, because to be completely honest, I can’t see my household functioning without our trusty smart home system, Google Home. Now, before you go and jump on your anti-technology high horse and refuse all the notions of the modern world, let’s take a deeper look at how smart home systems are improving the lives of all.
Whether you’re a boomer, Gen X-Y, or even a millennial, the beauty of smart home technology means we all get to enjoy the benefits of those born into the world as Gen Z onwards. It all comes down to an individual who’s willing to change and adapt to the modern world.
Anyway, enough banter. Here’s how a smart home system can improve your quality of life if you ask.
Let’s you control your smart home from a single point
Have other smart devices at home? I guess you do have fridges, washers, TVs, air conditioners, mobile phones, and iPads. After sufficient time browsing the smart homes compatibility tool (whether Google Home or Alexa) to see what works, you’ll be surprised to know what exactly you can control.
- Command your lights. Don’t want to get out of bed? Then don’t. Turn the lights off and on with a single command. “Turn on all the lights”. Can’t remember if you turned off the lights downstairs. “What lights are on in the living room?”
- Open and close your garage door. Thanks to smart door technology, there is now a new garage door trend emerging. You can now link up your garage door to any smart device, including mobile phones and smart home systems. This gives you the power to operate your door anytime, anywhere — forgetting if you close your garage is a thing of the past with smart door technology.
- Change the temperature. Can’t find the remote? Batteries dead? No problem. “Hey Alexa, set the temperature to 21” Easily maintain a comfortable temperature in your home all year round at your convenience.
Control your TV with voice commands
How many times has the TV remote gone walk-about? You search every crevice of the couch, and lift up the cushions only to find a singular sultana and a crushed dorito, but alas, no TV remote. Screw the remote! When you’ve got a smart home system, who even needs one? You may still technically need one without getting ahead of me, but check this out.
- “Hey Google, watch Formula 1: Drive to Survive on [device name]”
- “Hey Google, watch Peppa Pig on YouTube on [device name]”
- “Hey Google, pause.”
- “Hey Google, rewind.”
- “Hey Google, next episode.”
Translate conversations in real-time with interpreter mode
If your family speaks more than one language or you hosting a foreign exchange student, Google Home has the ability to act as a real-time translator for up to 27 different languages. Even if you wanted to know a specific word in another language.
- “OK Google, be my [insert language] interpreter.”
- “OK Google, interpret from [insert language] to [insert language].”
- “Hey Google, I need an interpreter for Mandarin.”
- “Hey Google, translate into [insert language].”
Become a master chef with on-the-fly conversions
How many times have you come across a measurement in a recipe and had to do a quick Google search on your phone, oily hands, hot stove, water boiling? I’m not saying a smart home system like Alexa will cook for you (at least not in the 21st century), but she will make cooking far easier and less chaotic. You can also add certain skills to Alexa, which includes recipes from Allrecipes, Betty Crocker, and Best Recipes.
- Convert units on the fly. “Hey Alexa, how many grams in half a cup?”
- “Hey Alexa, convert 2 and half cups to millilitres”
- Set timers. “Hey Alexa, start a timer for 10 minutes”
- “Hey Alexa, start a muffin timer for 15minutes”
- Get recipes. “Alexa, ask Allrecipes what can I make with beef and carrot”
- “Alexa, ask Allrecipes for a slow cooker recipe for steak”
- Get nutritional information. “Alexa, how many calories are there in an egg”
Keep the kids entertained
Sometimes you want some time to yourself, especially after a long day at work. Why not hand the kids over to Alexa or Google Home? Let your kids entertain themselves for hours on end as they interact with audiobooks, and children's books (Amazon Storytime), play games, find Easter eggs, and music.
- Get Alexa to read out a children's book, “Hey Alexa, ask Amazon Storytime to tell me a bedtime story.”
- Play games. There’s no shortage of fun with Alexa with games including Song Quiz, Escape the Room, True or False? And so much more.
Ask your smart home system anything
The list of commands to ask a smart home system is limitless. Get the latest news updates as soon as you get home from work and know what’s going on in the world. Listen to your favourite track immediately without sifting through hundreds of songs.
Make sure tomorrow isn’t raining before you hang the clothes out to dry. Set reminders. Read and reply to messages without picking up your mobile. We haven’t even scratched the surface of these little devices' capabilities. It doesn't matter what generation you’re from, whether you’re a technophobe or not; there is no denying just how easy life has become thanks to smart technology.
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