Google Home launches its new smart home automation script editor - The Verge

Google Home launches its new smart home automation script editor

Google Home’s script editor is now live

The platform’s promised advanced automation tool adds more conditions and starters to let you do more with your smart home.

By Jennifer Pattison Tuohy , a smart home reviewer who's been testing connected gadgets since 2013. Previously a writer for Wirecutter, Wired, and BBC Science Focus.

Jun 13, 2023, 4:00 PM UTC |

*The new Google Home script editor is now available to those in the public preview.*

Google has finally launched its script editor tool, offering more powerful automations for your Google Home-powered smart home. Available starting Tuesday, June 13th, to those in the Google Home public preview, the script editor is part of Google’s new home.google.com web interface, which also has live feeds for any Nest cams on your account. The script editor will be coming to the new Google Home app preview starting June 14th. There’s no date for general availability.

Automations in the smart home let you string multiple devices together to automate tasks such as turning lights on, playing music, locking doors, and so on. The Google Home script editor includes more advanced options for automations than are currently available in the Google Home app.

Along with allowing for multiple starters and actions, the script editor adds more advanced conditions. For example, you can set an automation to run only if the TV is on and it’s after 6PM but before midnight. The script editor automations are created in the new Google Home web interface, you can apply for the public preview here.

The script editor is a powerful tool that can really level up your smart home automations. Similar to platforms that also allow for advanced conditions — like Home Assistant and features offered in Samsung SmartThings and Apple Home through Apple Shortcuts — the Google Home script editor requires some basic coding knowledge.

The script editor shows all your Google Home automations. You can create new ones here and edit any created by the script editor — indicated by a <> icon (represented in the top right of this screenshot).

Screenshot by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

The script editor allows you to do everything you can in the Home app when setting up automations, plus “more than 100 new features and capabilities to fit your unique understanding of your home and what you want it to do,” according to a blog post by Anish Kattukaran,director of product management at Google Home.

This includes access to nearly 100 starters and actions, including Matter sensors — something not currently possible in the Home app. For example, an Eve Motion sensor connected via Matter to Google Home can’t currently be used as a starter for automations in the Home app but can be used as one in the script editor.

Script editor automations have to be created in the web interface, but once set up, will show in the Google Home app (iOS and Android), where any household member can edit, run, deactivate, or delete them.

Google has several example automations in the script editor documentation (the link is only accessible if you’re in the preview) to demonstrate the new capabilities. These include:

Flash the lights red and blue when a smoke alarm is activated.
Close the shades based on the brightness in a room.
Dim the lights and close the blinds when the living room TV is on after sunset.
If it’s warm inside, close the shades, turn on the fans, and adjust the thermostat.
When the doorbell is pressed, blink the lights in the room where occupancy is detected.

An autocomplete makes the coding process a bit easier, but you will need some basic skills.

Screenshot by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

I’ve had some time to play with the script editor, and it’s an exciting development for the platform, which has been limited compared to the competition, both in terms of the devices it supports and the types of automations you can use.

However, this is definitely a prosumer offering. While the autocomplete makes it easier to code for your home — by suggesting your devices in the “device” field and only suggesting actions and states that are available to those devices — this is not for the casual smart home user.

That’s a shame because these aren’t super complicated, and I’d like to see a simpler interface in the Home app to create these types of automations. In the meantime, advanced Google Home users will be very happy with this development, which is the latest in a significant upgrade to the whole platform since the launch of Matter last year.

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Tech - The Verge

Facebook and Instagram were having some problems.

Over the last hour or so, the Facebook page failed to load, attempts to upload Instagram Stories failed with an error message, while some reported they couldn’t send or receive messages on WhatsApp and Messenger, and Downdetector showed spikes for all of Meta’s services.

Reached for comment, Meta comms director Andy Stone told The Verge:

We’re aware that some people are having trouble accessing our products. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible, and we apologize for any inconvenience.

Things seem to be mostly back to normal, but we’ll keep an eye out. In the meantime, we also have some fresh advice about the supposedly wonderful opportunities available to people who log off.

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Sony’s comfy WF-C700N earbuds are on sale for their best price to date - The Verge

Sony’s comfy WF-C700N earbuds are on sale for their best price to date

Sony’s comfortable WF-C700N earbuds have fallen to their best price to date

Plus, you can save on a four-pack of AirTags, the midrange Samsung Galaxy A54, and one of the best games of the year.

By Brandon Widder , a senior editor overseeing deals, gift guides, and commerce. He spent six years spearheading buying guides and consumer tech coverage at Digital Trends.

Jun 16, 2023, 2:05 PM UTC |

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission.See our ethics statement.

A photo of Sony’s C700N wireless earbuds. — *The entry-level WF-C700N come in four colors, including two colorful pastel hues.*

The old “times have changed” applies to a lot of things — the way we consume media, the general office environment, Taco Bell. It also applies to wireless earbuds, which have come down drastically in price since the first pair of Apple’s now-iconic AirPods landed in 2016. Sony’s WF-C700N earbuds are a prime example of how you can now get a lot of functionality for very little, particularly since they’re available from Amazon, Best Buy, and Sony for as little as $98 ($21 off).

So what does a sub-$100 pair of earbuds look like in 2023? Well, in the case of the entry-level WF-C700N, you get a terrific fit and balanced sound for the price. Sony’s latest pair of noise-canceling earbuds also offer a slew of software features, including location-based sound settings, Fast Pair support on Android, and — thanks to a firmware update that will supposedly arrive this summer — the ability to connect to two devices simultaneously. Where they falter is active noise cancellation, but there aren’t a lot of earbuds at this price point that fare much better when it comes to drowning out city life.

The WF-C700N are a budget-minded pair of noise-canceling earbuds from Sony — offering a fine value proposition for a comfy fit, good quality sound, and fast pairing on Android phones.

At this point, it’s probably safe to presume that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis a game that needs little introduction. However, if you have yet to grab Nintendo’s latest blockbuster, you can currently pick up the physical version at Amazon for about $62 ($8 off), at Walmart for about $66, or at Costco for $59.99 ($10 off) if you’re a member. Note that Walmart is selling it via a third-party seller, though the retailer itself is fulfilling the order.

Nintendo’s recently released Nintendo Switch title has been making tsunami-level waves since it arrived last month, partly due to it being a direct successor to the wildly successful Breath of the Wild and partly due to what feels like a never-ending feed of TikTok videos showcasing the game’s highly inventive building mechanics (which are impressive). Whether it truly lives up to its predecessor, it’s a game-of-the-year contender deeply rooted in exploration and mystery, with visuals that somehow leverage an aging console from 2017 in ways that, frankly, I just never thought possible.

Screenshot from Tears of the Kingdom featuring Link, a blond-haired slight build man, falling through the sky as Hyrule unfolds below him.

Tears of the Kingdom is the latest installment in the Zelda franchise. The storyline and gameplay are similar to Breath of The Wild’s, but enough has changed to make Link’s return to Hyrule plenty special.

Microsoft is no longer making Xbox One games, Starfield is on the way, and the recently announced black version of the Xbox Series S is up for preorder at Amazon, Best Buy, and the Microsoft Store for $349.99. The forthcoming gaming console — which is slated to arrive on September 1st — isn’t all that different from the original model aside from the slick paint job, but it does feature an expanded 1TB of built-in storage.

The Series S still can’t compete with the more powerful Xbox Series X in terms of raw specs, but the storage bump is a welcome upgrade for Microsoft’s compact console, which remains a great Xbox Game Pass machine that can also tackle the same games as the larger Series X (albeit, often at a lower 1080p resolution). It’s also likely to be one of the cheapest, if not the cheapest, ways to experience Bethesda’s ambitious space title when it arrives in the fall. Now, fingers crossed the latter is as bug-free as Microsoft thinks it is.

$350

Whereas the original Xbox Series S launched in white with just 512GB of built-in storage, the forthcoming model will offer 1TB and a sleek all-black design when it arrives later this year.

A few additional discounts worth sharing

You can pick up a four-pack or AirTags at Verizon for $79.99, which is an additional $9 off their usual sale price and matches the lowest price we’ve seen on a four-pack to date. We’ve seen a tonofdeals on Apple’s handy item trackers as of late, but given a forthcoming feature in iOS 17 will allow you to share them with up to five other people, it’s not a bad idea to stock up if you or a family member is the forgetful type. Read our review.
Samsung’s A54 5G is on sale at Amazon and Best Buy for $399.99 ($50 off), which is the second-best price we’ve seen on the unlocked Android phone to date. Although it can’t compete on the camera front with midrange devices like the Google Pixel 7A, the 6.4-inch phone still offers solid day-to-day performance, an IP67 rating, and five years of security updates, meaning it should be plenty suitable for years to come. Read our review.
The latest Echo Dot is down to just $27.99 ($45 off) at Amazon with a Kasa Smart Plug Mini — a sale price that’s typically reserved for the Echo Dot on its own. It’s a handy pairing given you can use the Alexa-based smart speaker to control the plug, which lets you control lamps, fans, and other devices that don’t natively support Amazon’s voice assistant. If you prefer a more old-school method for checking the time, you can also pick up the LED-equipped model with the same plug for $34.99 ($48 off). Read our Echo Dot (fifth-gen) review.

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