Google’s been busy at I/O 2019 today, having unveiled some new hardware and a bunch of advances on the services front, including Android Q and new privacy features in Search, Maps and other products.
There’s a new leader in the growing smart speaker market. During the first quarter of 2018, Google overtook Amazon for the top spot. Meanwhile, Apple’s nowhere to be found in the new Canalys survey of the top smart speaker producers in the world.
Ahead of the HomePod launch, Voicebot.ai surveyed over 1,000 Americans over their interest in smart speakers. They published the results today with some interesting findings.
Apple’s upcoming Siri-powered speaker has won praises from technology reviewer David Pogue, who touted its impressive sound quality compared to the Google Home Max, the latest Amazon Echo and the Sonos One.
Google is worried about losing share to Amazon.
Research spells trouble for laggards like Apple and Samsung who are both reportedly aiming to release a smart speaker of their own in the first half of 2018.
Taking advantage of HomePod’s delay, Google’s new speaker has arrived earlier than originally expected.
A new study found that nearly two-thirds of smart speaker owners in the United States use their device for simple requests, like asking basic questions, getting weather information and more.
New features are coming to Google’s smart speaker, like visual responses via iPhone, Bluetooth streaming and hands-free calling to mobile phones or landlines in the US and Canada.
A major software update for Google Home lets owners set up the smart speaker to recognize and distinguish the voices of multiple users for personalized content and results.
Amazon’s Echo will soon get some real competition as Google gears up to launch its Home smart connected speaker in the United Kingdom this spring. According to Rick Osterloh, Google’s Vice President of Hardware, Home’s “artificial intelligence skills and vast data” will give it the edge over Amazon’s voice-activated wireless speaker.
Home, the search giant’s always-listening Amazon Echo rival that was announced at Google I/O 2016, is basically a “dressed up” version of the company’s $35 Chromecast HDMI dongle, claims a paywall’d article published by The Information.
It’s a bit odd that Google’s upcoming device doesn’t run Android—it’s powered by the same Linux-based OS used on the Chromecast—though Google has reportedly discussed using Android for the next version of Home.
