When it comes to the phones that Google will
announce at its big event on October 9, we already know pretty much everything
there is to know about them (aside from pricing information, that is). But
these shindigs have in the past yielded more products being unveiled than just
handsets, and it looks like this year will be no different.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet the upcoming Google Home
Hub. It's a 7-inch smart display, preparing to enter a nascent market already
populated by the Lenovo Smart Display and the JBL Link View. The Google Home
branding isn't a mistake - think of this basically as a smart speaker with a
display slapped onto it.
Oh, and definitely don't think about it as an
Android tablet with a smart speaker attached. The company's smart display
platform doesn't allow for apps to be installed or any such thing. It's just
another portal for the Google Assistant to live in. So you'll be able to talk
to it like you would to a Google Home, but unlike smart speakers, on such a
smart display the Assistant will obviously also be able to show you things.
If you integrate it with a Nest Cam, for example,
you can ask the Assistant to show you what your front door camera is currently
seeing, and it will do that. You'll get visual feedback, on the screen, for
other things too, such as when you ask the Assistant to add appointments to your
calendar. Another use case would be asking it to play something from YouTube,
or wanting to see your vacation pictures.
Naturally it will also include all the functionality
found in the Google Home, Home Mini, and Home Max smart speakers. In terms of
looks, it definitely feels like it's part of the same family, with its
aesthetics and design. It will be offered in Chalk White (pictured in this
leak) as well as Charcoal (a darker grey). Connectivity-wise, you get
dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. There are ambient light and color sensors near
the display, and the Home Hub weighs 480g. The main thing it lacks is a camera,
oddly enough.
Google is apparently readying 3 million units for
sale in the first production batch, so the company seems pretty certain this
will be a success. And with a rumored US$ 149 price, that may not be out of the
question. For comparison's sake, remember that Lenovo's 8-inch Smart Display
costs US$ 199, while JBL's Link View goes for US$ 249.
