Google Assistant supports a lot of different device types and now you can add sensor-only devices to that list.
These types of devices include things like smart smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and water softeners. This means that these types of devices are about to become a whole lot more useful for anyone that owns them.
This support only allows for users to get alerts. So at the moment, users can't actually complete any actions in regards to the new support. But that could be coming down the road.
When and if that does happen, a smart home setup could have the ability to initiate an action based on something one of the sensor-only devices detects.
If you live in an area where you have hard water, then you may have a water softener to help counteract this. Hard water is particularly high in mineral content such as calcium and magnesium.
Hard water isn't harmful to your health, but it can interfere with the lathering action of soaps and detergents. It can also lead to lower levels of water flow and less efficient heating.
If you have a smart water softener or water treatment system, you will now able to ask Google about the cleanliness of your water filter as well as the lifetime of that particular filter so you're aware of when exactly it needs to be replaced.
Smart water softeners can also tell you when your salt tank needs to be refilled and keep you updated as to how much water your home is using.
