VOICE ASSISTANTS

WIDE I NTEGRATION

As more companies bring voice technology into their products, smart speakers and other devices with integrated voice assistants are once again poised to play a big role at Ces.“expect better sound and deeper integration with individual devices,” predicts internet-of-things analyst Stacey Higginbotham. She also believes Amazon’s Alexa and the Google Assistant will each make it much easier for consumers to control kitchen appliances, home-entertainment systems and other devices.

Voice assistants increasingly are being integrated into smart displays and even TVS. Google used last year’s CES to announce its first smart-display partners; this year, it may be Amazon Alexa’s turn to collaborate on additional touch-screen versions.

In addition, voice assistants may morph into somewhat sci-fi-like forms, akin to “smaller, mobile robots that also incorporate digital assistants,” Higginbotham says. CES 2019 may feature some early experiments with the concept, but it’s doubtful that such smart robots will replace traditional smart speakers anytime soon.