Google’s OnHub routers are getting a little bit smarter today with the help of IFTTT, the online tool that allows you to easily connect different online services and platforms.
Thanks to this, you can now automatically prioritize traffic from your Apple TV or Xbox when you want to watch a movie for example. To do this, you simply create an IFTTT recipe that gives those devices priority access to your network after they turn on. If you always want your streaming device to have priority access at a certain time of day, then you can also set that up with the help of IFTTT’s timer.
Similarly, you can also set up IFTTT to always send you a notification when a certain phone connects to your WiFi network (or when it disconnects again), so you can track when your kids come and go (I’m sure they’ll love that!).
Because IFTTT also supports a range of other connected home devices, including Phillips Hue lights and the Nest Cam, you can also start using your OnHub to automate some of their features (turn on the light when your phone connects, etc.).
Google and IFTTT already offer a wide range of pre-built recipes today. Some aren’t all that useful (I don’t live in a cave, so I don’t always need to turn on my lights when I come home, for example), but others show what’s possible when you connect all of these different gadgets that can’t usually talk to each other.