Smart speakers have a lengthy list of applications, but they are especially useful in a household full of kids. Google is focusing on that very demographic with its announcement of support for a variety of new games from Disney that can be played through the Google Home smart speaker.
There are three options on the docket for Disney games that are now playable through Google Home. The first is Maui’s Music Game, based on the hit animated film Moana. When you fire it up, you’ll be tasked with helping Maui find Moana. You’ll have to defeat monsters and navigate the many obstacles found in the undersea world, all while earning musical conch shells.
Toy Story Freeze Dance turns you into one of Andy’s new toys and asks you to follow along with dance moves provided by Jessie.
Finally, there’s the Disney Princess game, which allows you to become one of Disney’s famous princesses. Players can choose from Belle, Ariel, Tiana, Jasmine, and Cinderella and embark on a voice-guided adventure.
In addition to those three new titles, Goolge Home can also play a handful of other Disney games including Mickey Mouse Adventure, Belle’s Castle Adventure, and Cars Adventure. For the slightly older crowd, you can also test your knowledge of a galaxy far, far away by playing Star Wars Trivia.
If you have a Google Home under your roof and want to give your child access to Disney’s latest slate of interactive adventures, you can allow your kids to use Google Assistant on the smart speaker and activate the games. Create an account for children under the age of 13 using Family Link, which Google introduced last year to give parents more control over their kids’ experience with Google Home. Once you’ve created the account for your child, link it to Google Home so they can use the device in a moderated capacity.
All of the games from Disney can be accessed on Google Home by saying, “Hey Google,” to get started, then the command “Play,” and the name of the game that you want to play.
Few things ruin a quiet evening faster than a robot vacuum roaring through the living room. Most of us end up pausing the cleaning run, which defeats the whole purpose of owning one. Matic thinks it has the answer with its new Serene robot vacuum, and the big selling point is how little noise it makes.
The Matic Serene runs at 52 decibels even when cleaning at full power. To put that in perspective, Matic compares it to the hum of your refrigerator. It is available now for $1,695, which is $200 more than the original Matic’s current price.
Outdoor security cameras are not always practical if you live in an apartment or rental. Drilling into an exterior wall may be off-limits, while pointing a regular indoor camera through a window can create another problem once reflections start showing up after dark.
Baseus is trying to solve both issues with the new PrimeSentinel W1, a $69.99 security camera designed specifically to monitor the outdoors through glass. It mounts directly to a window without drilling and uses a 4K Starlight sensor with an F1.0 aperture for full-color monitoring during the day and at night.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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