Google’s smart speaker with screen become the center of smart home
Google presents the Home Hub, a smart speaker with a screen of seven inches. The device can display all sorts of information and control smart devices via voice control.
The screen can display information such as weather reports, traffic information or playlists, but also, for example, images from Nest security cameras. The interface is optimized for, among other things, Maps and Photos. The Hub can recognize who in the home, issues the assignments for personalized functionality. During the show, Google demonstrated this with YouTube, which automatically showed the user’s playlist.
Smarthomes
The Home Hub is intended for use by the whole family and supports options for parents to limit the functionality for children. The screen adjusts the brightness automatically to the amount of light and can automatically switch itself off at night. The screen resolution is, just like more info about the hardware, not yet known.
The Home Hub serves as a central component for smart homes. A Home View dashboard shows the smart devices at home, including Philips Hue lighting, the Chromecast TV connection, and Nest equipment. The mobile Google Home app’s interface now shows the same dashboard and is compatible with the Hub.
Google Home
The Google Home Hub will appear on October 21 for $149 (130 euros excluding VAT) in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. When non-English speaking countries follow, is not known. What does appear with us are the Google Home and the Google Home Mini. The smart speakers, which can be operated with Dutch-speaking commands, will appear on 24 October. The Home costs 149 euros, the Home Mini 59 euros.
Google tries to reassure people who are worried about their privacy. When the Home speaker is listening, LED lights on the side are lit. The device processes the question itself, and users can switch off the microphone with a switch. The Home Hub does not have a camera, so people feel ‘comfortable’ according to Google, even when used in the bedroom.
Source: ANP
