Google’s Amazon Echo Clone Will Land in November

On Tuesday the search company unveiled a smartphone, the Pixel, and a home speaker, called Google Home, created to put its voice-operated helper Google Assistant within reach at all times.

Like the Pixel phones the Home device isn’t completely new. Read on for the details.

You can throw on a song from the phone to the speaker by tapping on the Cast logo, using a supported application and then select the Google Home. The Assistant is Google’s answer to Echo and Apple’s Siri.

Home can control a variety of other connected devices in the house – it now supports Philips, Nest Thermostat, IFTTT, and SmartThings with more soon to follow.

But if you only look at the products Google “copied” (“inspiration” like this is by no means new or unusual), will see only half the puzzle.

Google Home is being powered by Google Assistant, which Google CEO Sundar Pichai described as the company’s attempt to “build each user his or her own personal Google”.

Google Home is currently available on the Google Store for $129, and it looks like the update to the Google Cast Google Home app is rolling out now.

The first thing you notice about Google’s Amazon Echo killer is how small it is. You can ask “When’s my first event tomorrow?’ or ‘List all my events next week” for example. The device also works as a smartphone control centre and also plays the role of assistant for other google devices. No buttons, no LED lights, just a capacitive touch surface on top and the speaker grill on the bottom.

Once you say “What should I do today”, the Google Assistant gives you the rundown of your day’s briefings. “But in the next 10 years, we will shift to a world that is AI-first, a world where computing becomes universally available-be it at home, at work, in the auto or on the go”. Queiroz confirmed Tuesday that Google has had conversations with companies that have added Google’s Cast technology to their Wifi-connected speakers to also add Google’s Assistant.

Google Home is being positioned as a challenger to the Amazon Echo. At the time of writing, the Echo is up for grabs at £150, while the Echo Dot (2nd generation) is £49.99. “The technology needs to be smart and just work for you”, Osterloh said. While Amazon has since released a $50 version, named the Amazon Echo Dot, it will be these two smart speakers going head-to-head in the market.

At the event, the company finally revealed what is called Google Actions, essentially a combination of the two types of requests that the Google Assistant can handle – Conversation Actions and Direct Actions. As Amazon puts it: ‘All you have to do is ask’.

Now, the company is rebranding the app again, and simply calling it Google Home.

Google assistant is an iteration of a virtual assistant that is considered to be an upgrade of Google Now.