We have been hearing rumors that Google were going to launch a new device to take on the Amazon Echo, the Google Home and now the device has been made official at the Google IO Developer Conference.
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Now at Google I/O 2016, the company unveiled the next step: Google Assistant. Google also has redesigned its virtual assistant to be more conversational and intuitive.
Google assistant can also be summoned in the Allo Google’s latest text-messaging app. Allo users will be able to use Assistant to find extra information or send auto-generated replies.
At the heart of Home is the updated and supposedly more intelligent Google app software and the new Google Assistant.
The device, a voice-activated speaker called Google Home, forms the centre of a Google plan to use artificial intelligence in computing to help give every user “their own individual Google” by becoming personal to them, according to Google chief executive officer Sundar Pichai.
It certainly looks interesting from the video and could end up being a popular device. The simply titled Google Assistant will live inside Google hardware similar to how Alexa lives inside the Echo, and Cortana lives inside Microsoft hardware.
Amazon’s leadership in e-commerce means its Echo “can always be on the front-page of Amazon’s site and that is going to make it hard for any rival to catch up”, Blau said. However, despite the push for innovation that this new virtual assistant has, that’s not the only reason industry members are taking note.
To get the ball rolling, Google will sell a virtual- reality headset with a wireless motion controller expected to carry the Nexus brand that the company originally created as a showcase for its Android operating system for smartphones.
The new headset marks a major upgrade from Google’s initial foray into VR in 2014, a cheap model made out of cardboard that sells for as little as Rs 150 and is even given away in sales promotions by some companies.
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For the moment however, Google says its features will be limited to one its very familiar with, which probably isn’t that much of a surprise given it’s a smart home device with lots of potentially hazardous access.
