The Google Home smart speaker is yet another device that was teased back at Google I/O. Today, the company has finally revealed the capabilities of the Google Home as well as the device’s launch date.
Inspired by modern day household items, the Google Home comes with three “extrusion speakers.” While the device is mainly operated by voice commands via two microphones, the top of the Google Home is a capacitive touch surface that allows you to control the device manually.
For the speaker side of things, Google Home will work with YouTube Music and Google Play Music natively. In the event that these two services aren’t your music streaming platform of choice, Google Home can also integrate with Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio and TuneIn. The device can also double up as a Chromecast Audio receiver, allowing you to cast music to any Chromecast connected television or speakers in the house. In the event that you have more than one Google Home devices in the house, all of these devices will be able to communicate with each other directly.
As with many of the devices introduced by Google today, the Google Home speakers will come with Google Assistant support. In terms of third-party services, Google will be releasing the device’s API within the coming weeks. At launch, Google Home will come with a limited number of services such as the ability to request for an Uber, but over time, the number of services that Google Home will support will hopefully increase. Google will also be making improvements to the device in order to turn it into a proper smart home hub as the company has mentioned that the device will work with Hue lightbulbs, SmartThings, Nest devices, and Sonos integration.
Google Home will be launching in the States on the 4th of November for USD129. Those who purchase the speaker will net themselves a 6-month free subscription to YouTube Red.