The California-based company has announced a new smart home device called the Google Home Hub. This will be a tablet-esque screen with a stand that looks to compete against Amazon’s Echo Show or the Facebook Portal. It will be released October 22 and will retail for $149. Pre-orders for the device are open now.
The Google Home Hub will be a display integrated with Google Assistant software designed towards simplifying the smart home experience. No specific details about its size or weight were announced, however, you can get a good look at what the device will look like in the image above. When it releases later this month, it will be available in four colors: mint green, pastel pink, black, and white. It is made with “softness” in mind with rounded edges and custom fabrics.
The main conceit of the device is to allow a more visual experience with the Google Home range of devices. For the Home hub, this means that Google Seach, Maps, Calendar, and YouTube are all optimized to work with the Google Assitant and the device to display the right information asked for. To preserve security and privacy, the Google Home Hub does not include a camera. The device also has an adaptive brightness feature which the company is dubbing “Ambient EQ.” The display will also turn off automatically at night.
Google Home Hub will also have many of the features of the other Google Home devices such as giving users information across various apps when you ask it “Good Morning.” However, it will display it in a more visual manner with the various integrated apps. The smart device is also geared towards kitchen use with a dedicated recipes menu, as well as easy access to YouTube videos. Music was also emphasized in the presentation, with Google announcing that a purchase of the device will come with six months of YouTube premium for free.
Simplifying the smart home experience was a large part of this reveal. Google announced that the Home Hub will be compatible with over 200 million devices across 1,000 brands, all in one dashboard. This menu will be called “Home View” and will be coming to the Google Home app on smartphones as well. Finally, Google discussed the device’s photo capabilities. The smart frame will have easy access to the Google Photos app and will create “Live Albums.” This feature will automatically collect pictures of chosen people into one album. It will remove any unwanted images (such as blurry or over-exposed ones) and will add any new photos taken on other devices into these automated albums.
Again, the Google Home Hub will release October 22 for $149.
