Yesterday, the latest Google Home firmware widely rolled out to speakers and Smart Displays. On the Nest Hub, it introduces a new shortcut in Home View to quickly launch Google Assistant Routines.
With Smart Displays last year, Google Assistant in the home gained a screen to allow for more complex experiences beyond voice. Leveraged today for watching video, recipes, and controls, Google is now letting developers take advantage of the display for fullscreen app-like experiences.
Having Google Assistant ready at all times is a handy tool in day-to-day life, and Smart Displays only enhance that with visual components. However, these displays are annoying to use at night because Google’s UI is a stark white. It’s time for Google to add a dark mode to Smart Displays like the Home Hub.
With Continued Conversation, smart speakers will leave the microphone on for a few seconds after Assistant finishes a reply so that users can ask a follow-up without repeating the hotword. Google is now bringing this feature to Smart Displays.
At CES 2019, Google announced interpreter mode for Google Home speakers and Smart Displays. The Assistant feature began rolling out earlier this month, and is now fully available for consumers as Google talks up the benefits for concierge and hotels.
Smart speakers help provide answers about the world in a quick and conversational manner, with Assistant devices particularly excelling due to Google Search. At CES 2019, Google is making every Home and Smart Display into a translation device with Interpreter Mode.
Google Assistant is going to be a big trend at CES 2019 with KitchenAid highlighting just how ubiquitous and widely adopted Smart Displays will be. The home appliance brand is doubling down on how ideal for the kitchen this form factor is by adding IPX5 water resistance.
Earlier this week, we reported that just about everything we’ve seen about Fuchsia is now gone, as the “Armadillo” UI has been deleted. In its place, we only have references to what seem, in context, to be three other “shells” or user interfaces which are all kept closed-source by Google. However, one of these, “Dragonglass,” may offer more answers than we initially thought.
At I/O 2018, Google introduced six new voices for Assistant based on DeepMind’s WaveNet. This allowed users to customize voice interaction on Android phones, Google Home, and now Smart Displays. Google Assistant today is gaining an Australian-accented and British-accented voice for even more customization.
With the holiday season underway, Google is announcing a slew of new features for Assistant speakers and Smart Displays. This includes the Pretty Please feature for families announced at I/O 2018, Assistant notes and lists integration, Broadcast Replies, and visual lyrics for the Home Hub.
Lenovo delivered the first Google Assistant smart display to market, but the Google Home Hub recently debuted with a lot of extra functions and features. Now, a new update heading out to the Lenovo Smart Display is adding more functionality to the Home Hub, as well as new cooking features, and more.
Way back at CES this past January, Google Assistant smart displays were revealed, and LG was among one of Google’s first partners. However, following Lenovo and JBL launches, LG was fairly quiet. Today, launch details for the LG smart display, WK9, have been revealed, including a $100 price cut.
Amid a series of hardware unveils at 10/9, Google announced several new features for Assistant. The Home View dashboard launched on the Google Home Hub and made its way to other Smart Displays, along with Digital Wellbeing. Google Assistant is now adding Broadcast replies, cooking cards, and more.
Google confirmed a couple of weeks ago that the new features available on the Google Home Hub would be rolling out to all Assistant smart displays. No timeline was provided on that, but the Lenovo Smart Display (in both sizes) is already starting to roll out the functionality.
At 10/9, Google announced Downtime and Filters for the Google Home Hub. These Digital Wellbeing features will be coming to all Smart Displays and Assistant speakers, as Google’s initiative to manage device usage is integrating with Assistant on phones.
With the Google Home Hub on Tuesday, Made by Google debuted a slew of new features like Home View and Live Albums. That functionality, along with multi-room audio, is coming to all existing Assistant Smart Displays with an update in the coming weeks.
With the Home Mini and Home Max in 2017, Google was able to inundate the market with affordable smart speakers, while offering an audiophile experience for the high-end. This year, the Made by Google lineup is gaining its first Assistant Smart Display with the Google Home Hub.
The Google Home launched at the inaugural Made by Google event in 2016, while 2017 saw the Home Mini and Home Max. This year, the Google Home Hub is expected to continue the company’s success in the connected speaker space over Amazon. Thanks to a handful of leaks, we are well aware of the design, specs, and capabilities, while the price has also been rumored.
Here’s a look at everything we’ve learned about the Smart Display so far…
Smart speakers have been an unqualified success for Google over the past year or so, and smart displays are the next big thing. Following Lenovo’s Smart Display going on sale last month, the JBL Link View is next in line, and now a full review has hit the web…
The first Assistant Smart Displays launched last month and others announced at CES are expected to debut throughout the fall. Meanwhile, a Made by Google device has been long rumored, with a new report today pegging a launch before the holiday season.
Google finally lived up to its promise of delivering Assistant-powered smart displays last week with the debut of the Lenovo Smart Display. Now, a second option is available for pre-order with JBL’s Link View.
Google Assistant has been a core part of my life since its debut. Whether it be using my Google Home Max for music, timers, and controlling lights, using other Assistant speakers throughout my home for things like getting the weather when I get up in the morning, or using my phone for a quick answer to something trivial, I’ve come to depend on the voice assistant in my daily habits.
Early this year, Google revealed that Assistant would be arriving on a new form factor: Smart Displays. Now, the first one has arrived from Lenovo, and I’ve spent the past several days putting it through its paces.
Unveiled at CES 2018 with availability announced at Google I/O, the first Assistant smart displays are set to hit the market next month. Ahead of that, the Google app is beginning to lay the groundwork by noting what first-party Assistant services will support the new device category.
We got our first look at Lenovo’s smart displays back at CES, and at I/O 2018, Google announced that the Assistant smart displays from Lenovo, LG, and JBL would be available this July. Now, B&H Photo has both sizes of Lenovo’s smart displays up for pre-order.
