Google adds to voice-assisted Home smart-speaker range
Google has unveiled the next iterations of its smart speakers along with a suite of new gadgets. Google Home Mini will sell in the US for $49 from 19 October while the larger Google Home Max will be released in December for $399. The devices will feature upgraded voice-recognition software, which can differentiate between voices and has a more natural dialogue flow. The company also announced the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL phones, the Pixelbook laptop, the Clips artificial intelligence camera and Pixel buds, headphones that can translate languages in real-time.

Confirming one of the industry’s worst-kept secrets, Google announced today that it finally has a cost-reduced version of its Google Home smart speaker. The $49 Google Home Mini, available for preorder now, will go head to head with the Echo Dot that Amazon introduced way back in March 2016.

Like the original Google Home, the Mini will feature fabric over its speaker grill. But Google assures us this is no ordinary fabric. Google’s lead designer for home hardware, Isabelle Olsson, said the company invented its own yarn for the Mini—going through 157 iterations to find just the right colors: chalk, charcoal, and coral.

“The first thing you notice,” Olsson said, “is the striking simplicity. The yarn is designed to allow sound and light to pass through it. Touch the fabric to pause the music or talk to the assistant.” Olsson said the speaker projects sound 360 degrees, or you can connect it to a Chromecast speaker.

Google The ability to stream video from a Nest Cam to a Chromecast shows the enviable synergy between Google and Nest Labs.

Industrial design aside, the biggest threat that Google presents to Amazon—at least on the smart home front—is Google Home’s voice-recognition capabilities. Google was first to recognize and respond to different people’s voices, and it’s still superior when it comes to linking one voice command to the next. Google VP Rishi Chandra introduced another new feature called Family Link accounts, which fine-tune the Google Assistant to respond to the voices of children under age 13.

With Family Link, Google Assistant can read children’s stories, play games like freeze tag, and respond to the types of questions that kids ask. Google has also partnered with Disney to bring characters from Disney properties ranging from Mickey Mouse to Star Wars to Google Home. Chandra said Warner Bros. and other studios would follow.