Google has come out bragging today about its personal assistant's support for a vast number of Internet of Things devices. The company has seen a huge jump in device support in the past four months, revealing that Google Assistant added supports more than 5,000 IoT gadgets. This is compared to the 1,500 devices it supported back in January, highlighting a rapid increase in adoption.
Last year, Nest unveiled a temperature sensor to join its existing smart thermostat products. Customers have been left waiting since, but the product has finally appeared to purchase online...and not as preorders. The sensor is a great addition to Nest's product line, one every smart thermostat owner should consider purchasing.
Google is launching a Google Assistant Investment program, offering financial and technical support to companies wanting to build on its AI platform and in its cloud. Unveiled along with four initial recipients, the new program is part of Google's attempt to encourage more Assistant-powered hardware and Actions, and preferably lure people away from Alexa in the process.
Facebook may launch a pair of smart speakers featuring its M assistant internationally first, only later offering them in the US. The contemplation, according to sources, is due to the Facebook's current privacy debacle in the US and worries that it may harm the speakers' performance in the market. The sources also tipped some of the features these smart speakers will allegedly offer.
Alexa may have colonized your home and even your car, but a new portable battery case cuts the cord on the Echo 2 in-between those places, too. Latest in the smart speaker untethering options from Ninety7, the new Sky battery sleeve takes advantage of Amazon's removable speaker mesh design in the second-generation Echo launched last year.
Starz, the network you turn to after depleting HBO's and Showtime's libraries, is now supported by Google Home. Thanks to this new support, Google Home owners can use Assistant to control the app, eliminating the need to manually launch the service and then navigate to the desired show. This makes Starz the seventh video service supported by Google's home speaker, but its own video platform remains neglected.
You may soon be sharing a campus sidewalk with an autonomous delivery robot, with Starship Technologies launching a fleet of its six-wheeled self-driving 'bots in California. The startup had been operating residential trials in the US and Europe, with the robots delivering take-out food and more.
Amazon may have only announced its Echo Dot Kids Edition last week, but the colorful smart speakers are already in line for some deals. To make a regular Echo Dot into the Kids Edition, Amazon clads it in a child-friendly skin and then throws in its new FreeTime Unlimited on Alexa service, for some age-appropriate content.
Amazon has quietly launched a home security service, taking on Vivint, ADT, and others with a range of systems that do away with a monthly fee. It's the latest move by the online retail behemoth to extend into the smart home, having made a number of acquisitions in the space over the past 12-18 months.
Alexa is about to get better at handling more complicated, multi-step conversations, as well as acting more like a useful personal assistant. The new functionality was revealed by Amazon's director of applied science, Ruhi Sarikaya, who leads the Alexa Brain initiative trying to make AIs more natural to engage with.
Comcast and Tile have teamed up for a new way to track down lost items tagged with a Tile device, putting the search results right on your TV screen. The new functionality has been baked into Xfinity X1, and allows for voice searches using the system's X1 Voice Remote.
Amazon Key is still a fairly young service, having only launched back in November. Amazon is wasting little time in expanding it, though, today launching in-car delivery as part of Key. Yes, you heard that right: Amazon will now deliver packages to your car, so long as it'll be in a publicly accessible area when you want your item dropped off.