Google revealed its voice-controlled speaker on Wednesday, seen as the company's response to Amazon's Echo. The system goes by the name Google Home, and it harnesses the power of the search giant's virtual assistant.
Scheduled for release this fall, Home comes in a stylish cylindrical form that's noticeably much more compact than Echo. Its bottom part will come in different colors, complementing a slanted top that's also absent in Amazon's hardware. Its price has not been announced yet.
It may be too early to judge, but because Home uses Google's search engine, it will probably be smarter. The New York Times cites a recent test, which revealed that the company's assistant is most capable of executing basic tasks. It was up against counterpart softwares from Amazon, Apple and Microsoft.
Out of a 4.0 grade-point average, Alexa (Amazon) scored 1.7; Cortana (Microsoft) scored 2.3; Google (Google) scored 3.1 and Siri (Apple) scored 2.9. The results also showed that Google is best at travel and commuting-related tasks.
Home is poised to answer questions and complete tasks such as performing search and playing music, among others. Google even teases that it will be smarter, Mashable reports, one way of which is by keeping the conversation running through a learning algorithm.
While Google is ready to tap more into smart home technology, Forbes says it appears to come in conflict with Nest. Followers can recall Nest as the home automation producer bought by Google in 2014 for $3.2 billion, which currently functions as an independent Alphabet unit.
While these developments in artificial intelligence call for some celebration, there are still plenty of questions to ask, especially in voice-controlled computing. Some concerns include the security of human-machine conversations and the way voluminous personal data will be handled by tech companies, USA Today notes.
Are you excited to own a Google Home? Should the Amazon Echo be worried? Share your thoughts in the comments below!