Googles smart speaker Home is finally coming to Germany. On August 8th, German customers will also have the chance to experience a bit more science fiction. At the same time, Amazon is finally getting one serious competitors.
Its Time
In May last year, Google announced its own language assistant for the home. Then, just before Christmas, Google Home appeared in the United States. Since then, interested customers have been waiting for the release in Germany. Now the time has finally come. The inconspicuous speaker will also be available in Germany for €149. Fortunately, that means Amazon's Echo is no longer the only device of its kind on the market. The function of the two products is identical. These are Bluetooth speakers with an active WLAN connection and built-in microphones. In addition to playing music, the well-known activation words "Alexa" or "Ok Google" can be used to activate the integrated language assistants to answer questions, retrieve data or control smart home devices. Various apps also allow the functionalities to be expanded. For example, there are skills for echo from well-known magazines such as Spiegel or Focus that read the current stories.
The next opponent is ready
as we in reported in our WWDC article Apple is also planning to release a smart speaker. The Apple HomePod should offer better sound and be equipped with Siri. Apple therefore also names Sonos as an opponent. The Americans are primarily known for their networked speakers, which enable wireless music streaming throughout the house. In contrast to the Echo and Home, the HomePod should also be significantly more expensive, currently $349 is estimated. On the last Prime Day, the Amazon Echo was available for €79. We will see if the sound is so different when the HomePod is expected to be released in 2018.
Meanwhile, Amazon is preparing for the upcoming pressure. The shipping giant is said to be planning a new version of the Echo, which will be presented later this year. We keep you up to date.
Check out the Germany ad on the Google Home:
