"OK Google, call mom", "OK, calling mom now". Yes folks, you read correctly, as of right now Google Home can now make outgoing calls, of course there is a catch but we'll get to that later. Let's look at this new feature in depth as it was rolled out this past Wednesday should not come as a surprise to many, Google did give a sneak feature peak this past May at Google lO. Home user who dwell in the US and Canada will be able to call people that's in your Google Contact List and local business using voice and signature "OK Google " command.
Google Home now brings itself in-line with Amazon's Alexa Echo, which itself introduced calling and messaging back in May. There is a glaring difference between the two, with Google Home it allows users to voice any calls free of charge to anyone living within the United States and Canada, Alexa on the other hand is limited to just those who own a Alexa device or smartphones that have a Alexa app installed. If safe to say Google one up Amazon in itheir clap back feature response.
Google Home is not impervious to faults as it cannot place calls to one another, meaning you can't receive incoming calls, it can for now only make outgoing calls. There not even close to competing with Amazon's newest iteration, the Echo Show which can make video calls.
How to get Google Home to start making free calls is quite simple, requiring no type of software updates or device tweaks, just utter these two words, "OK Google", then follow up with your command. Now the person you intend on calling must be in Google personal contact list, that would be your Android smartphone. You can also make personal calls to local businesses provided that you know it's location and once again stored in your contact list.
At the moment there is no caller ID support which is the biggest drawback with this newly implemented feature, for now calls will register only as "Unknown" or "No Caller ID". Fret not, change is in the works from Google, by years end Google Home will be able to display mobile numbers from your smartphone.