Google is reportedly working on a new device similar to Amazon’s Echo that will integrate Google search with its voice assistant technology. Although an official name for the device has yet to be revealed, it is being referred to internally as “Chirp”.
More information about the device could be revealed at Google’s I/O developer conference this week, but it is not likely to make its launch at the event. However, it could end up on the market by the end of the year.
It is believed that it would be able to respond to users’ voice commands, answer questions, and perform functions such as activating music. The device is said to resemble the OnHub wireless router, which looks a bit like an inverted flower pot.
Google hoping to cash in on success of Amazon Echo
Chirp is expected to be a direct competitor to Amazon’s Echo, which is a portable speaker that uses voice assistant technology named Alexa to carry out tasks such as answering questions, providing weather and traffic reports, controlling lights, reading audio books, and even ordering pizza.
The idea of voice-activated assistants is not a new one, with Siri, OK Google, and Cortana being available on smartphones for several years. Nevertheless, the Amazon Echo has been immensely popular and has garnered a lot of attention from tech companies.
Exact figures are not available, but analysts have estimated that around three million units have been sold so far. In March, Amazon announced it would be adding two new devices to the Alexa collection.
Echo’s value lies in its ability to collect data about what people buy, search for, and listen to, in addition to the way in which they talk to devices, and it is likely that Google will want its own access to this information.
In a blog post last month, Google CEO Sundar Pinchai wrote: “Looking to the future, the next big step will be for the very concept of the ‘device’ to fade away,
Over time, the computer itself — whatever its form factor — will be an intelligent assistant helping you through your day. We will move from mobile first to an AI first world.”
It is interesting to note that Nest, which is owned by Google parent company Alphabet, was considering the idea of building its own version of Echo but scrapped the idea partly due to concerns that customers would be reluctant to give Google that level of access to their homes.
