Just last month, we had reported that Google had been working on a new smart speaker in the lines of Amazon’s Echo Show and Lenovo’s Smart Display, with the USP being a 7-inch touchscreen mated to a reasonably large speaker. There wasn’t a lot to go by back then, beside the fact that suppliers in…
Just last month, we had reported that Google had been working on a new smart speaker in the lines of Amazon’s Echo Show and Lenovo’s Smart Display, with the USP being a 7-inch touchscreen mated to a reasonably large speaker. There wasn’t a lot to go by back then, beside the fact that suppliers in Taiwan were instructed to ramp up production of Google’s then unnamed smart speaker to meet the Christmas launch deadline.
We have now uncovered full renders along with screenshots of the official product specifications page that provide a complete look at the upcoming smart speaker. It looks like the device will be called Google Home Hub and will offer a 7-inch screen that should add yet another means for users to interact with the Google Assistant. However, don’t get your hopes up and expect this to work like an Android tablet attached to a large speaker. The touchscreen will most likely be driven by a scaled-down Google Assistant interface and not by a full fledged mobile OS.
The great thing about using any Smart Home product from Google is its versatility. This stems from the platform’s compatibility with virtually all smart devices available in the market. The Google Home Hub not only brings the same level of support, but provides an intuitive touchscreen interface along with voice control. All your standard voice commands that work on the Google Home devices will work here, along with the added benefit of an LCD display.
The product rendering reveals how the 7-inch touchscreen will display essential information such as the time, weather, and even information related to your daily commute via Google Maps. Behind this display, we have a large full-range speaker unit and a mute toggle. While not nearly as large as the Google Home Max, the square-ish shape of the Google Home Hub is reminiscent of its larger screen-less cousin. Also, the device carries over a similar Chalk White aesthetic as that of all other Google smart speakers. The specifications page even confirms that there will be a Charcoal variant, in addition to the aforementioned white model.
The feature list of the Google Home Hub has also been greatly improved compared to the existing Google Home offerings. Pairing the Google Home Hub a Nest Cam, for example, can be used to improve security features easily with commands such as “Hey Google, show me the front door camera”. Such controls are not limited to security cameras and will work with other compatible home appliances such as lights, TVs and more.
Furthermore, the Google Home Hub will allow access to Google Photos, which can be viewed by giving simple voice commands. An example Google provides for this interaction is with the phrase, “Hey Google, show me my photos from Hawaii”. Another feature called Live Albums allows users to create slideshows out of their Google Photos library. The product page also boasts of Google’s partnership with over 400 brands to offer compatibility with more than 5000 smart devices.
As for connectivity, the Google Home Hub will support both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi connection for what’s touted as high-performance streaming. The device also comes with support for a yet unspecified revision of Bluetooth. The display itself houses ambient light and colour sensors, but we did notice a conspicuous absence of a webcam on the specifications page. The device weighs in at 480g which is about the same as a standard Google Home unit ( review).
The one thing that remains to be confirmed regarding the Google Home Hub is its price. If last month’s report is anything to go by, the announcement of this new smart speaker should not be too far away considering Google might likely want to have units available for purchase before the holidays.
As was noted then, Google is allegedly planning to have a whopping 3 million units available for sale in the first production batch itself. Be that as it may, the official announcement for this product is likely just around the corner (October 9, to be precise) and we can expect further clarity regarding the price and sale details then.
