Google wants to play an even bigger role in managing people’s daily lives, while also nudging them into an alternate reality, as the Internet company responds to competitive threats posed by Facebook, Amazon and Apple.
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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 the firm’s chief. It will also let you run two apps side by side, something you can do with Apple’s iPads but not iPhones. At a time when smartwatches are still a niche item, that could be useful for Google. Google CEO Sundar Pichai told a crowd of more than 7,000 people that he wanted to move the conference from San Francisco back to Mountain View to underscore a “pivotal moment in terms of where the company is going”.
Instant Apps is Google’s answer to the pain of installing phone apps you know you’ll use just once or twice, for shopping or booking a parking spot, for example.
Allo is a new, “smart” messaging app that lets you text without typing and message without actually having any friends. On Google Home, the assistant will help you find the music you want to listen to or the temperature you want your home to be. It’s a great chance to catch them still fixing their hair. Google says Android Pay will expand to Singapore and Australia this year. You can search, book reservations or play a game. Google is also distributing guidelines for a new controller with a few buttons, a touchpad and sensors to track its orientation and where it’s pointing.
The Home will be powered by Google’s own personal assistant. It will be the voice and brains inside Google Home.
Although it is meant to be more personal than the automated voice that Google now uses to respond to spoken requests on smartphones and computers, the company is simply calling it “Assistant”. A competitor to Siri, Cortana and Alexa, the assistant is notably lacking a cute name or anything that indicates a gender or personality.
Google didn’t reveal a price for the Home device, though it presumably will be competitive with the Echo, which sells for $180. It syncs up with all kinds of smart tech within your home, allowing you to take control over things and probably makes the idea of a fully-fledged smart home way less daunting for those who’ve resisted until now.
Emphasis on other. Google leaders acknowledge: Amazon did it first, with the popular Echo.
Google is expected to dive deeper into virtual reality and artificial intelligence during an annual conference that serves as a launching pad for its latest products and innovations.
Wear devices are also getting the same smart replies that are rolled in Allo, which will suggest replies based on the context of the conversation.
Google did not announce a release date.
Eventually Google will also eventually release a new headset and controller for VR. These headsets promise to be more comfortable and more immersive than the cardboard headset.
The next version of Google mobile operating system, Android N, will also launch later this summer. There’s also a new tiny keyboard being added, because well, we’re not sure.
In an attempt to be all cool, hip and embrace crowdsourcing, Google wants YOU (yes, YOU) to decide what the next N-flavoured sweet stuff Android N will be named after.
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Google’s new VR headset won’t be as sophisticated as the recently released Rift from Oculus, which costs $600 and must be tethered to computers that can cost another $1,000 or so.
