It's a big week for Google.
The search giant unveiled a slew of new products: a phone, a virtual reality headset, updates to its Chromecast line of products, a new type of wireless router. There was even a big to-do event with press invited to Google's Mountain View, California campus.
While the new phone — the Pixel— is nice, and the new VR headset — Daydream View— is a look to the future, Google's most ambitious new product announced on Tuesday was actually a small speaker with a bizarre, slanted top.
It's called Google Home, and it's an in-home personal assistant/multidirectional speaker. You speak — "Okay, Google" — and it listens. "How do I get from here to Roosevelt Island on the subway?" Google Home has an answer, using Google Maps and up-to-date MTA route information pulled from Google, and it's going to tell you.
All you have to do is ask.
Like Amazon's Echo, it's meant to serve a role previously occupied only by fictional AI characters: to perform casual tasks by voice alone. But Google Home has some fascinating new additions to the concept, and a price point $50 below the Echo.
Here's everything we know about Google Home thus far:
SEE ALSO: Google unveils its newest major product: the Google Home speaker
DON'T MISS: I bought Google Home instead of Amazon's Echo — here's why
Let's be real: Price matters so much when it comes to new types of technology. Thankfully, Google Home is an affordable $129.
Google Home is meant to fit seamlessly into your life. Simply say, "Okay, Google," and your wish is its command.
Here's just a short list of the stuff Google Home can do:
-Set calendar events, timers, and dinner reservations.
-Play your music (from a variety of services) out of its multi-directional speaker setup.
-Use Google/Google Maps to answer questions and give you directions.
-Control various connected home devices, like Phillips Hue light bulbs and Nest thermostats.
It listens for the command "Okay, Google," which it can hear using the top-mounted microphones.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider