Google Home

Google Home is set to take on Amazon’s Echo. Marie Brewis reveals what it is and when we expect to get our hands on it

Google Home was announced on 18 May 2016 and Google didn’t give a specific date of release. However, the plan is to release it later this year, probably in time for Christmas, though potentially earlier. Android N will, if past launches are anything to go by, be launched with the 2016 Nexus phones (probably in the autumn) and all of the services and platforms Google just

announced – including Daydream VR Mode – will be baked into the OS. This means Google Home could be ready at a similar time, although nothing was mentioned about which countries would get it. We’re obviously hoping the UK is one of them.

Naturally, at this early stage price was not mentioned. However given that the Amazon Echo in the US costs $179 ( around £120) we expect Google to rival Amazon’s product, not least because Google CEO Sundar Pichai said “all credit to Amazon for creating interest in this space” during the unveiling. Furthermore, we hope to see it available worldwide, unlike the Amazon Echo which is limited to the US at present. We therefore hope to see Google Home cost under £150 in the UK, which we think is a reasonable price to pay for a multi-functional smart-home device.

Don’t be surprised if Google Home actually costs a lot less, though: as we’ll explain below the specification is very similar to the company’s £30 Chromecast streaming stick with some additions to the design.

Google Home

Google Home, previously codenamed Google Chirp, is a bit like Google Now on an Android phone but operated entirely by voice. It can answer questions and carry out basic tasks such as setting timers, alarms and sending messages. It will tie in with Google’s services, such as Google Play Music, Google Cast and the new exciting voice assistant, Google Assistant.

In other words, it’s Google’s version of the Amazon Echo. Amazon Echo is a cylindrical home

audio speaker that integrates a personal voice assistant called Alexa, which is very much like Siri, Cortana and Google Now on your phone or tablet. It’s always on and always connected, with Wi-Fi allowing it to sit on your home network and access cloud services, and Bluetooth letting you stream music from mobile devices. Google Home will work in a similar way to the Chromecast, so you can choose a song from Google Play Music and it will play on your Google Home device.

Demos showed multiple Google Homes placed around the house so you can use it wherever you are. Google also went to lengths to explain that as well as working when you’re close to the device and there’s little ambient noise, it has also worked hard to ensure excellent farfield voice recognition, which means it will work

just as well if you say “Okay Google, reserve a table at Pizza Express for four at 8pm tonight” from across the room while the TV’s on.

You don’t always have to start the conversation. The demos showed the Home playing an alert tone, and the user responding with “Okay Google, I’m listening”. Then, the Home read out the alert “Your flight is delayed by 30 minutes” and also gave a short traffic report. On the back of that, the user asked the assistant to change her dinner reservation that evening.

At the end of May new details emerged about Google Home via The Information, which suggests it is very much like the Chromecast – no doubt because the same team worked on its development. Both run the same Linux-based OS, and share many of the same specifications, including the same dual-core ARM-based microprocessor, 4GB of RAM and a dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi chip. Google has simply added a mic and speaker, a plastic top with LED lights, and a fabric or metal bottom, which could mean its very cheap to produce.

Google Assistant

Google Assistant is the new conversational ‘bot’ that was announced at Google I/O 2016. It’s an extension of Google Now but, a bit like Siri, allows better two-way conversations. Google says this is due to advances in AI and machine learning, giving the all-important context to conversations. One example given was booking cinema tickets. You could say to the assistant, “What’s playing tonight?” and it would understand you want to

know which films are showing at your local cinema. After displaying a few titles, you could say “We’re planning on bringing the kids” at which point the assistant shows family-friendly films. You could then say “Okay, let’s see Jungle

Book”, and the assistant could purchase four tickets and display a QR code you can show at the door. But the conversation could have “gone many different ways”, said Pichai.

Instead of choosing a film from the selection, you could say “Is Jungle Book any good” and the assistant would check reviews, display ratings from IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, and offer up the trailer to watch.

Google Home is merely one way of interacting with the Google Assistant. You’ll also be able to use it on your (Android N) phone, in your car with a compatible Android Auto head unit and also on

your TV (a hint that the Assistant may come to the Chromecast or Nexus Player).

Google Home features

The small home device has interchangeable bases, in various colours, metal and fabric finishes, allowing you to tailor it to your decor, making it ideal for different environments around the house. Under the interchangeable grill there is a speaker, which according to Google is set to offer ‘deep bass and clear highs’. We have yet to hear it, so can’t comment on these claims, but the speaker will be used to play your favourite songs and for the assistant to talk to you.

The device itself is smaller than you might think: you can see the scale in the photo below. This means Google Home should be discrete in pretty much any room. At the top of the device, there’s a ‘display’ which will have four small LEDs which will allow you to interact with the device. It won’t have any buttons on top but uses dual microphones to listen for your voice.

The device will have a single button located on its shell, allowing you to mute the microphone – useful for times when you don’t want it responding.

The device will allow you to set alarms, set timers, alarms, shopping lists, but will also support other smart home devices such as the Nest thermostat (owned by Google), lights and other connected devices. We’re excited to see the possibilities in the future, with Google wanting to open the device to other manufacturers and allow you to even order flowers or hire a car straight from your Google Home device.