There are of course smart alarm clocks that offer a complete package, but you can also use a separate Google Home speaker as a smart alarm clock. Even in combination with other smart home products, there are possibilities. In this article we explain what the options are.
The first option is immediately the simplest. You can simply tell the Google Assistant (on a smartphone, smart speaker or smart display) that you want to set an alarm for eight o'clock tomorrow morning. You can also give that alarm clock a name, so that you can immediately remember something the next day. Canceling an alarm is done with the voice command “Hey Google, cancel all my alarms” or “Hey Google, cancel my alarm for eight o'clock tomorrow morning”.
You can always ask the Google Assistant afterwards which alarms have been set. You can also snooze an alarm, so you can stay in bed a little longer. You can state a specific number of minutes, but if you don't, the Assistant will assume ten minutes. You can stop an alarm with the command “Hey Google, stop” or by tapping the button on the touchscreen or the side of the Home Mini. With “The Google, set an alarm for every day of the week at 08:00” you set a daily alarm.
Set a smart alarm clock with music
You can also provide the function of the smart alarm clock with media, for example specific music or radio. However, that function still works with the Dutch-speaking version of the Google Assistant. So you'll have to set it up in English first to get this done.
Once you have done that, you can say, for example, “Set a Rolling Stones alarm for 8 am.” So you will be greeted the next morning at eight o'clock with music from the Stones. The feature works with songs, playlists and radio stations. Incidentally, the alarm clock only goes off on the device you are talking to at that moment. So if you're in the bedroom, that's the only Google Home that sounds an alarm clock.
Using Routines
If you want to go a step further, you can also use a Routine. You can set an evening or morning routine within the Google Home app. With such a routine you can link different actions with one voice command.
For example, saying “Hey Google, sleep well” could be a routine for turning off the lights, turning on the alarm for the next day, and turning down the heating. This way you can arrange a lot of things at the beginning or end of the day, without having to do a lot of work. You still have to set the settings correctly in the Home app, but you only have to do that once.
Through the routines it is even possible to take the Philips Hue lamps with you in the morning. By setting up your own routine within the app, you can indicate that the lamp will turn on automatically in the morning.
This feature isn't quite as comprehensive as in America or comparable to the company's Wake-up Light yet, but it's a start and can help in the morning. You can already take this into account by always having the lamp on a specific setting (dimmed, for example), so that your eyes do not immediately hurt when you wake up.
