The Google Home hub is a new product from Google that, among many other things, hopes to promote Google Assistant just as much as any of the other products Google announced today. At the launch event, Google made it possible for publications to get some hands-on, or voice-on, time with the Google Home, to help get an idea for how it will work, what it looks like in the real world, and if it’s worth that $129 price tag. The results seem to be positive enough: CNET
The Verge
“That’s all great, but it’s not quite enough. One of the reasons that the Echo is so interesting is that it has “skills” that let it work with any number of third-party devices and services. Google Home can talk to some smart devices — Nest, Hue, and SmartThings — and some services like Uber, but developers can’t add their services to Home without setting up a partnership with Google. The company promises me that will change later this year.”
9to5Google
“The top half of Home features a clean, diagonal face with LEDs embedded underneath and a capacitive touch panel for manual controls like play/pause and volume. Dots in the four Google colors light up and spin to show that Home is actively listening and completing a command. Google touts its long history in Far Field voice recognition to provide unparalleled always listening capabilities. For instance, Home can easily pick up “Ok, Google” even when audio is playing through the speaker. There is a physical button on Home to turn off the microphone with the four dots turning red to signify that “Ok, Google” is disabled.”
Popular Science Google touts its long history in Far Field voice recognition to provide unparalleled always listening capabilities. For instance, Home can easily pick up “Ok, Google” even when audio is playing through the speaker. There is a physical button on Home to turn off the microphone with the four dots turning red to signify that “Ok, Google” is disabled.”
Google Home goes on sale in November, from a variety of retailers, and it will cost $129. Pre-orders are live now.
