How to Add Google Home to a Laptop

Google Home is found more and more often in people’s homes. It is a smart speaker developed by Google. Google Home can make your place completely automated – or smart, as is how it is usually called. You can then proceed to give your Google Assistant voice commands for controlling all other devices connected to your Google Home. Google Assistant also has great intelligence – it can tell you useful information like prices of train tickets, how much sugar is in 30 ounces of orange juice, you get the idea.

Google Home is designed to work with iOS and Android devices but not PCs or laptops. With that said, it’s still possible to work around that if you have to use it with a laptop. What you will need for this is an emulator.

Note: Keep in mind that your experience will not be the same as using an actual iOS or Android device. Doing it through an emulator will enable your PC or laptop to use most Google Home features, but probably not all of them.

What Is an Emulator?

An Android emulator is a software interface that simulates Android devices. It accomplishes this by creating a virtual Android device that’s capable of running apps. You run it like a program on your computer and it will mimic an Android device, with the exact phone model typically determined by the creator of the emulator. This will enable you to, among other things, play Android games on your PC.

Here’s What to Do

Since Google Home only runs on iOS and Android devices, you’ll have to simulate such a device on your computer. To achieve this, you will need to download and install an emulator. For this example, we will be using BlueStacks, perhaps the most well-known of them all. Follow these steps:

Step 1

Download BlueStacks from the official website. You can find the website here.

Step 2

Find the downloaded file and run it. Then just follow the instructions on the BlueStacks Install Wizard. It’s very simple!

Step 3

Run the emulator app. Navigate to Play Store and find Google and Google Assistant. Download and install them.

Note: if you can’t find Google Play Store, you can also use the Browser app. In the browser, go to play.google.com and you will then get an option to use Play Store.

Step 4

Run and configure Google Assistant. Follow any additional steps as prompted by the app.

Step 5

Now that everything is installed, you only need to set up your Google Home devices and you are done!

What Are Some of the Best Emulators?

There are several widely-used emulators. Although most people use BlueStacks, it’s always a good thing to know a few alternatives.

BlueStacks

The best emulator out there is probably BlueStacks – the one used as an example in this guide. It is very popular and more importantly – it’s free! It has versions for both Windows and Mac OS. BlueStacks is easy to download and install. You can find the official website easily by typing bluestacks.com into your browser.

You should know, however, that this app has some drawbacks too. Mainly, it doesn’t have the genuine Android UI interface that you normally see on mobile devices. It can’t access your computer’s file system either. But, if these drawbacks are not important to you and you just want to run Google Home, then BlueStacks is for you!

Native Android Emulator

Fun fact: Android has its own official emulator.

Native Android Emulator comes with the Android development kit. It’s used by developers to test and debug their Android apps. It features a set of pre-installed apps, including a messaging app and a phone dialer. While this emulator is very stable and well-built, it’s more for professionals than the average Android user. Native Android Simulator comes with full documentation, it is supported by Google itself, and you can find it on developer.android.com. If you consider yourself more of a professional, then this is more your cup of tea.

YouWave

YouWave was at one time one of the best and most popular emulators. It has since been surpassed by newer emulators. It is light on resources and easy to install and use. Unfortunately, this one is not free. YouWave sells at $20 on the official website, but for a test drive, you can download and use the free 10-day trial version. You can find YouWave here.

Virtual Box

This app is an open-source solution for running other operating systems on your PC. It is an amazing tool for not just developers but also people who just want to explore different operating systems. Besides Android, it can also emulate Linux, Solaris, and others. It works for both Windows and Mac OS. The VirtualBox official site is at virtualbox.en.softonic.com. If you wish to try more than just Android, this is a great tool for you.

GenyMotion

This is one powerful emulator! GenyMotion is designed for developers. With it, you can test apps, create demos, and more. This emulator will also give you control over the virtual device’s system, which includes elements such as the file system and battery power. GenyMotion is free only for non-commercial use, though. It can be found at genymotion.com and comes with the latest version of Android!

Google, Write a Conclusion for me

Sure. Google Home is amazing, and many people use it daily. Although it can’t be added to a computer just like that, you can always use an emulator or two to make it work. These powerful programs can also be used for other things, so getting one is a great idea!

Has this guide been useful to you? Do you have some other solutions to this problem? Let the community know in the comments, it will help us produce more answers in the future as well!