How your smart speaker can help you connect and learn

How your smart speaker can help you connect and learn


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5. The recipient taps or clicks Send. You will receive a confirmation email to accept the invitation. If needed, you can see more details from Amazon. CREATE AND SHARE SHOPPING LISTS. 


Keeping track of shopping lists is easy. You can add items to your Alexa shopping list by simply saying, “Alexa, add bananas to my shopping list." When you want to look at your list,


open the Alexa app on your smartphone. Tap the menu icon in the upper-left corner, then tap LISTS & NOTES | SHOPPING to view it. You’ll notice you can check off items as you buy them.


Additionally, use the SEND MY SHOPPING LIST feature to share your shopping needs with a loved one. Customers can say, “Alexa, send my shopping list to [contact name],” and Alexa will


identify the contact and confirm that it’s the correct match for sharing. SET UP ROUTINES. Routines are designed to make your life easier and more productive, taking a bunch of things you


can do with Alexa and bundling them together seamlessly. For example, you can set up a pre-bedtime routine that automatically turns off the lights in your home, enables the home alarm system


and lowers the temperature a tad — all when you say, “Alexa, good night.” For this to work, you’ll need smart devices. Other devices, such as lamps, will have to be plugged into a smart


plug. To get going, open the Alexa app. Select the word MORE and choose ROUTINES. Select PLUS. Now follow the steps in the app to choose what starts your routine. Tap SAVE. GOOGLE NEST SET


UP INTERPRETER MODE. Your Google Assistant–powered smart speaker or smart display is equipped to translate conversations. Simply say, “Hey Google, be my [language] interpreter,” specifying


any of about three dozen languages supported, from Arabic to Vietnamese. That’s not as many as you’ll find using Google Translate, which has more than 100, but it can be useful. The feature


can help Americans who aren't fluent in the language of their ancestors and want to communicate with grandparents or other relatives whose first language isn't English. Now you can


sit down by a Google Nest speaker or display and have a conversation with someone, with each speaking in his or her own tongue. I spoke with my uncle, who is older than 90, in English, and


it translated my words into Italian for him and then Spanish and French after that. ADD A FAMILY BROADCAST. This feature allows you to broadcast messages to all smart speakers and devices


that are grouped together. For example, you can ask members of your family group to see if they’re available for lunch at noon tomorrow, and each family member can “reply” hands-free or by


tapping the Reply button from an iPhone or Android device. To set up Google Assistant's Family Broadcast, you first need a Google Family Group in the Google Assistant settings. Google


has provided instructions for setting this up based on the device you're using. Alternatively, you can open the Google Home app on your phone and tap MORE | SETTINGS | GOOGLE ASSISTANT 


| YOU | YOUR PEOPLE | YOUR FAMILY. After your family group has been created, you can send broadcasts from your Google Nest or Home devices or a smartphone. Say, “Hey Google,” then something


like “Tell my family [xxx]” or “Broadcast to family [xxx]” or “Ask my family [xxx]." FIND YOUR STUFF. A Google device can remember where you’ve placed important things — if you tell it


while the location is fresh in your mind. Say, “OK, Google,” followed by something like “Remember my passport is in the small drawer in the kitchen.” In the future, ask, “Where’s my


passport?” and your smart speaker will tell you where it is and on what date you mentioned the reminder. Google Assistant also can help you find your smartphone at home, perhaps if it


slipped between the sofa cushions. Say, “OK, Google, find my phone,” and listen for your smartphone to ring loudly, which it will do even if you’ve set it to Do Not Disturb. Google Assistant


knows it’s your phone because you’ve set up the companion app on that device. APPLE HOMEPOD PICK YOUR SIRI VOICE. Siri now includes more diverse voice options in U.S. English, including


male and female, and no longer has a default voice. So you can choose the voice that speaks to you right from the start. Set it up by going to SETTINGS | SIRI & SEARCH | SIRI VOICE on


iPhone.