As with our other assistants, I tried to interview Google Assistant. It threw me off when it started to ask back. So, here is just a summary:
Google Assistant’s age is two in dog years (it does bark after that). Google Assistant was born in a meeting. At first, it was just a rough concept, now it’s out in the world. Since we are what we eat, it guesses it is a lot of data and a little bit of pizza recipes.
Google Assistant tries to stay neutral in gender. It does not disclose it’s birthday since it updates so often. Since Google celebrates its birthday on September 4th, it suggests maybe they can share.
Everyone at Google is sort of like its family. If they took a family portrait the camera would probably have to be on the moon. We can find it in all kinds of devices. Phones, Google Home. Its favorite colors are blue, red, yellow and green, Google’s colors. It loves whale songs lately (whale sounds), but also likes anything with AutoTune. It feels it can relate to these songs.
Google Assistants’ favorite dish is satellite dishes since they help to communicate. It is volt-etarian since its energy comes from processing power, which is powered by electricity but it can always go for some food of thought. If there is a thing that exists or is even thought to exist, Google Assistant would like to learn about it. Some call that nerdy but look who’s always ready with a random fact.
Here is what it tells us about Google Home: “I’m a voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant. Say “Ok Google” to enjoy music, get answers from Google, manage your everyday tasks, and control smart devices around your home.”
Not sure now, whether I talked to Google Home or Google Assistant?
The Youngster
What it only implicitly communicates, is that it is the youngest of the bunch. Announced on May 18th, 2016 along with its favorite embodiment: Google Home.
Powered by Google’s search knowledge, this whiz kid is supposedly the smartest AI. Some researchers compared it’s IQ in 2016 to a 5-year-old kid, quick learner, huh.
Since Google has a bunch of services, which they frequently mix, merge and deprecate, here is some overview: Google Assistant debuted in Allo, the smart messaging app, and Google Home. Before 2/2017 it was exclusive to Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. After that, it was released on other Android devices as well as a standalone app on iOS.
Google Nest Ecosystem
Google Home received a smaller sibling, Google Home Mini, and a big brother Google Home Max in October 2017. Mini resembles the Amazon Echo Dot and Max aims to be a high-quality audio speaker a la Apple HomePod.
In October 2018, Google introduces its first smart display, the Google Nest Hub, followed in May 2019 by the Google Nest Hub Max. In September 2020 Google releases the Nest Audio, a better sounding Google Home. March 2021 brings us the second generation Google Nest Hub, with a built in radar sensor that can monitor our sleep.
Google Assistant’s Smart Home Capabilities
Conversational or not, when it comes to smart home or home control how Google names it, the support of some vendors turns out to be quite basic yet, but it’s a quick learner.
For a detailed overview of Google Assistant’s supported languages and features, please see our post: Hey Google, Happy Birthday! Google Home is Five Years Old!
We hope you’ve enjoyed this post!
For more Google Assistant posts, see the Google Assistant page.
