Back in May, Google announced the release of its new Google Home at the company’s annual developer event, Google I/O. It’s an internet connected home and listening device that also doubles as an AI assistant that can be integrated into everything Google on any computer, tablet, or smartphone. And with the great success of Google’s Pixels, this was another product probably worth purchasing. However, as soon as Google Home is taken out of the box and plugged in, everything starts to go wrong. Even for users of Google phones or using Google Android to download the Home app, the setup process is frustrating, to say the least. Some appliances simply would not connect to the Home app. The device also tended to break off the Wi-Fi connection, in so doing, rendering the device utterly useless. Remember that if the device can’t connect to any home Wi-Fi network, then Google Home is virtually useless.
Whether a home is large or it’s an apartment, any highly rated dual band router with a standard home Wi-Fi can spread out to more than 15 feet and at any point can serve up to a maximum of six or seven wireless devices that are connected to the internet of things network. However, at any given time, usually only two or three of these devices are running at the same time. So there’s no reason why Google Home should keep getting disconnected from the home Wi-Fi. So the problem is definitely with the Home device, not the Wi-Fi connection. Customers also complained that even when Google Home is working, it doesn’t provide what it was advertised to do. For instance, the Home won’t set up “reminders” because the “create reminder app” is not yet supported. It cannot also give directions or transit warnings and simply tells the user that public transit directions cannot be provided yet. It also cannot set up either a personal calendar or a work calendar. Now surprisingly, everything that Google Home is supposed to do as an AI assistant can be done from any Google phone or from Google Now.
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Other users also complain that Google Home often spews out information that is no longer relevant such as reminding the user of the boarding gate number for tomorrow’s flight, or informing that there’s traffic on the route to the airport, and all this that can be provided by Google Now or any Google phone. In fairness, Google Home, powered by its AI assistant, can carry on a sort of conversation that customers can keep going by asking pertinent questions. So if a user asks, “Ok Google, how far is Venus from Earth?” and it gives an answer, the user can follow up with, “How about Mars?” But in reality, people purchasing don’t need to find out trivia, or where Mars is, because they need Google Home to set appointments in a calendar, warn of the train schedules to work, or remind of the concert in two days. As an assistant, if Google Home were human, it’s a terrible assistant and will definitely get fired. In this case, many users are refunding their purchase of the Home. It’s just a complete failure and disappointment.
