What you need to know
- You can now make Duo audio calls on your Google Home, Home Mini, and Home Max.
- The feature is now available as long as your Assistant language is set to English (United States).
- You can call contacts just by issuing a command to your Google Home speaker.
You could make Duo video calls on the Nest Hub Max and audio calls on the Nest Hub (which doesn't have a camera), but the feature wasn't available on Google Home or Home Mini. That's changing now as Google is finally rolling out the feature to its Assistant-enabled speakers.
As spotted by our friends over at Android Police, you can now enable Duo audio calls on your Google Home, Home Mini, or Home Max. All you have to do is navigate to the Google Home app, select the Account tab, go to Settings -> Services -> Voice and video calls -> Video & Voice Apps and toggle your Assistant-enabled speaker.
Google notes that the feature is limited to users in the United States that have the language set to English, but I was able to get Duo audio calls working on my Google Home devices. For what it's worth, I have the Assistant language set to English (United States), so if you're having trouble seeing the feature, you should switch the language and try again.
Once set up, Duo calls went through without any issues: I was able to call contacts just by saying, "Hey Google, call [contact] on Duo." I was also able to call other Google Home devices scattered around my house by using the same command, and thus far it has been smooth sailing.
Tried Duo calls on your Google Home yet? How do you like the feature?
Google Home
The $99 Google Home continues to be a great way to get started with Google Assistant in your house. You'll be easily able to play music from your favorite music streaming services, get weather and traffic updates, and control smart lights and other connected home devices.
Harish Jonnalagadda is a Senior Editor overseeing Asia at Android Central. He leads the site's coverage of Chinese phone brands, contributing to reviews, features, and buying guides. He also writes about storage servers, audio products, and the semiconductor industry. Contact him on Twitter at @chunkynerd.
