Google has offered no shortage of hardware over the years, but most of it has been for a niche audience, to put it politely. Google Home, though, promises to be something else; a little personal assistant that sits on your desk, kitchen table, or anywhere else and does anything you can ask of it.
If you’re familiar with the Amazon Echo, Google Home is fairly similar, at least in how it works. It has an always-on microphone, and you can ask it to, say, stream a few songs, or solve complex quadratic equations to amuse you while you chop vegetables. It’s what Google’s put under the hood that makes it stand out.
First of all, it’s designed to network with Google’s other products, like the Nest thermostat or the Chromecast. If for example you’re listening to a podcast on Chrome, you can stream it to the home easily. Or you can link together a series of Google Home devices, so you can network them across the entire house if you feel like it.
Most importantly, though, it’s designed to tap into Google’s search algorithms when you ask it questions, and to use its networking tools to make life a bit easier. For example, if you search for a specific episode of a TV show, and it’s available to stream, you can have that kicked directly to your Chromecast. You can even switch out the colors on the little spud so it fits into your décor.
That said, Google has yet to mention a price. And leaving an always-on microphone in your house so Google can hear your every moment probably won’t sit well with some. It’s so easy to activate the microphones you have on you, the FBI has done it to spy on Mafiosi. And Google might decide it has the right to eavesdrop, something it’s done in the past.
So maybe keep Home in the kitchen and out of the bedroom. But otherwise, if the price is right, Google Home looks to be a smart way to automate basic tasks around the house.
(via Gizmodo)