Google has come up with a pleasant change for its Clock app. This change aims to make your morning more refreshing by allowing you to set musical alarms for Google Clock from Pandora and YouTube Music.
Google Clock alarm now support Pandora, YouTube Music
Last year Google updated the Clock app to allow users to add songs, playlists or albums from Spotify as alarm sounds. Now with the Google Clock 6.1 update, you will be able to set music from Pandora and YouTube Music as alarm sounds as well. After the update, you will now see the option to choose a sound from YouTube Music and Pandora. Like the previously-existing Spotify integration, you will be allowed to select from playlists, albums or standalone songs.
To set music from these streaming services as an alarm, you will first have to download the latest version of Google Clock and install the corresponding app (Spotify, YouTube Music and Pandora). You won’t see these options under the “Alarm sound” setting unless the apps are installed. To select music from YouTube Music as an alarm, you will need a paid subscription for the service. The premium service costs $9.99/£9.99/A$11.99 per month.
Interestingly, Google hasn’t yet added support for Google Play Music despite repeated requests from fans. Hopefully we will see Google Play Music and Google Clock integration at some point.
The Google Clock 6.1 update is available on the Play Store. If you haven’t received the update yet, you can download it from APKMirror.
Growing more useful
In the last major update to Google Clock, the company added a feature that was exclusive to Google Home devices. This feature, called Routines, allows Google Home devices to perform a set of predefined tasks when a certain phrase is used. Google has now added the same feature to the Clock app with some tweaks. The Clock app performs a set of tasks after the alarm is turned off. These tasks may include checking the weather, reading the latest news, adjusting the volume and more. The feature also supports smart home devices to perform actions like turning on the lights, setting the thermostat or even brewing coffee.
To set up a routine, go to the “Google Assistant Routine” section in the alarm and follow the prompts.
Color control added to Home app
Google has also updated the Home app to make it a bit more useful. The latest update adds the ability to change the color of any smart light connected to the Home app. The company already allows users to control smart lights but it has to be done via Google Assistant. This means the choice of colors is limited to what the assistant understands, and you have to say the right command. In other words, for any color set the assistant doesn’t understand, you will have to open the companion app for that smart light to set the desired effect. This ultimately defeats the very purpose of a central hub. The latest update to the Google Home app removes this limitation. Users will notice a new color button below the brightness control with 42 pre-set colors to select from.
However, according to Android Police, even this newly-added functionality is very basic. The tech blog explains that the app does not show the selected color set directly. To check the selected color, users had to open the panel again, and users are not able to set a color beyond the 42 choices. Such a move is understandable because it ensures support for common colors offered by most smart light brands. Nevertheless, the latest update to the Home app is a step in the right direction and suggests the search giant is serious on making the app a true central hub.
Google Duo now available on web
Earlier this week, Google also made its Duo chat service available to web users. Google Duo, which is seen as a rival to Apple’s FaceTime, was available only on iOS, Android and Chromebook until Monday. Now it is available to web-based users as well. With such a move, Google has dramatically expanded the number of potential users for the service.
To use Google Duo on the web, visit duo.google.com. The service supports both voice and video calls and works on Chrome, Firefox and Safari browsers. It is not clear if it supports Microsoft’s Edge or not.
