Skip to main content

Finally, you can use a Google Nest smart speaker or display to find an iPhone

How often do you put your iPhone down and then forget where it is? If you’re like most people, it happens more often than you’d care to admit. There’s good news — Google Assistant can now help you find your iPhone. While this isn’t new for Android owners, support for the iPhone is no doubt a welcome addition.

All you have to do is say, “Hey Google, find my phone,” and Google will ring your number. It doesn’t matter if you have your phone on silent or not; it will still ring. This works even on iPhones, so don’t worry if you aren’t an Android or Google phone user. You can still take full advantage of the feature.

Recommended Videos

Google Assistant has been able to help out with this for a while on Android devices, but now Apple users are finally feeling the love. You just have to opt in to receive notifications and critical alerts from the Google Home app.

In addition to finding your phone, Google Assistant picked up a few other new tricks. You can now check out faster while ordering food. Thanks to Google Duplex, Google Assistant can trim down your ordering process to only a few basic steps. Just search for a restaurant near you and place an order. Google Assistant will automatically fill in your contact and payment information. This feature is, unfortunately, only available to Android users at the moment and only works with a few national chains, but Google says it is partnering with more chains across the country soon.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Google Assistant also picked up the ability to create routines based on sunrise and sunset in your specific geographic area. You can set your lights to come automatically when the sun goes down, or to trigger your “Wake up” playlist when the sun rises. In that same vein, Google Assistant can now suggest potential routines to help you figure out more ways to streamline your life.

These new features are more ways that Google aims to make its assistant even more useful in day-to-day life. Following the string of announcements concerning Google devices and the upcoming Google I/O event, the company has major plans for the future that will make it an even bigger competitor to Amazon Alexa.

Patrick Hearn
Patrick Hearn writes about smart home technology like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, smart light bulbs, and more. If it's a…
iPhone SE 4: everything we know so far
The Apple iPhone SE (2022) and Apple iPhone SE (2020) together.

While the spotlight always seems to be on Apple’s mainline iPhones, the iPhone SE is a great pick for those who are on a budget. If you want an iPhone that doesn't break the bank, the SE is the way to go.

The original iPhone SE came out in 2016, and then Apple revamped it in 2020 and 2022 by giving it some more modern hardware. The iPhone SE tends to get updated every two or so years rather than annually like the traditional iPhone. This means that we should see a new iPhone SE 4 in 2025.

Read more
The iPhone 16 Camera Control is fun, but it could be better
Using the Camera Control on the iPhone 16 Pro.

Now that the year is starting to wind down, all the major flagship smartphone launches of 2024, including Apple’s iPhone 16 line, are behind us.

As an iPhone user for over the past decade, I found the iPhone 16 launch exciting, as Apple finally gave us some of the best darn colors for the base model in quite some time. And don’t forget that the base models also got quite a few features previously exclusive to the Pro models, like the Action button, a two-year jump in power with the A18, and the new Camera Control button that's on all iPhone 16 variations.

Read more
The iPhone SE 4 sounds amazing. But there’s still one big unknown
Mockup of fourth-generation iPhone SE camera bump.

The iPhone 16 series has won praise for its one-package-fits-all approach. It’s got a neat design, fast processor, AI future-proofing, and improved camera chops — all without asking a Pro-tier premium. But it seems the 2025 iPhone SE 4 is going to overshadow it.

Citing an anonymous “reliable” source, 9to5Mac claims that the next iPhone SE will be the first to feature Apple’s own 5G modem. It also makes sense, as the affordable model is a far safer choice for testing first-gen hardware than the cash-cow mainline iPhones.

Read more