Google has released the Home Hub, a smart speaker with a 7-inch touchscreen display and a new Home View app for controlling your smart home.
Similar to the Google Smart Displays sold by third parties like JBL, Lenovo and LG, the Home Hub is Google’s answer to this new category of devices. It is basically a home smart speaker with a touch screen.
This display can show smart home controls, news and more.
Unlike smart displays from Amazon and Facebook, Home Hub does not have a camera, which means that it can be comfortably be used in private areas. This also means that, unlike other smart displays, the Home Hub lacks video chat capabilities.
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Pick a Home Hub paint job
The device is available in four colors: Green, pink, gray and white. It costs $149.
Google’s goal is to make the Home Hub “blend seamlessly into your home.” It can serve up relevant and personal information for whoever in the family speaks to it thanks to its Voice Match feature.
The Home Hub can display photos you’ve taken with your smartphone or that you’ve stored in the cloud. It automatically filters blurred or duplicate pictures out of its selection.
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Controlling your smart home with Home View
Home View is a dashboard on the Home Hub that displays all of your connected devices. This allows multiple occupants to control smart plugs and other gadgets.
This user interface is also coming to a new smartphone app, which is similarly intended to be a one-stop shop for controlling every device in your smart home. The Google Assistant and its app can already do this, but the new app offers a much cleaner and simpler interface.
Google claims that Home View can control smart home devices from over 1,000 brands.
Google also said that it is creating “the thoughtful home” with smart thermostat maker Nest. The two companies will “shape how [smart home] technologies come together to create the thoughtful home.”
This article originally appeared on GearBrain and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
