Launch date for voice-controlled smart speaker

GooGle: Rival to Amazon Echo will be out next week

Google Home, the tech giant’s voicecontrolled smart speaker to rival Amazon’s Echo, will launch in the UK on April 6.

The small speaker, which is controlled by using the phrase “OK, Google”, utilises Google Search as well as Maps and Translate software to answer queries and provide information.

The speaker, which was first released in the US last year and can be used to play music, also uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to understand context and answer follow-up questions to your initial voice commands.

Google Home’s Suveer Kothari said: “With your permission, Google Home can assist you in planning your day, based on information like your calendar entries or flight information from your Google account.

“But if you’d rather keep things to yourself, you can turn off personal results any time in the Google Home app with a single swipe.”

Artificially intelligent voice assistants have become increasingly popular among technology firms, with Samsung announcing its own take on the subject, Bixby, last week to rival Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana and Apple’s Siri, which are already in use.

Google Home owners will also be able to use the device to control other smart home products, including light bulbs and thermostats, as well as TVs and other speakers connected using Google’s Chromecast devices. Home will cost £129, Google said. The tech giant also announced it was launching its Wifi router – Google Wifi – in the UK. The device, which will also cost £129, uses technology called mesh Wifi, which Google says uses multiple routers to evenly spread internet signal throughout the home.

Picture: PA. Google Home will be launched next week.