Google Assistant sounds like it could be just what smart home fans have been looking for in a digital assistant, but it’s pretty near worthless if it doesn’t have some good hardware to go along with it. That’s where the Google Home (previously codenamed Chirp) comes in.
The new device is a direct competitor to Amazon Echo, and it includes a speaker, always-listening microphone and the ability to control all the smart appliances in your home — including Google’s own Nest.
But unlike Amazon Echo, which can be a little dumb when you ask questions, Google Home taps into the company’s stellar search algorithms to provide smart answers to even the trickiest questions. And it lets you take advantage of Chromecast — shooting a show you might ask about directly to your TV or streaming a song to your Chromecast-enabled speaker.
The gadget also has a customisable appearance so that it doesn’t look like a big dumb black tube, but instead like something you might actually want to keep in your home.
And you can string multiple Google Homes together in one location. Sort of like with the Sonos speaker series.
There is, of course, the whole issue of you inviting one of the largest data repositories in history directly into your home and asking them to listen to all of your deep and dark conversations.
There’s no word on price or availability but you can sign up here and be notified when it’s for sale. Amazon Echo, consider your days numbered…