Google Home.
Google Home.

Google is poised to launch its Amazon Echo challenger at an event in San Francisco on Tuesday, according to reports from The New York Times, Mashable, and others.

Google Home, a voice-activated smart speaker unveiled at Google I/O in May, is similar to the Echo in a number of ways. Both devices are powered by virtual personalities. Google Assistant, which is already available in Google’s new messaging app Allo, is the tech giant’s answer to Amazon’s Alexa. The two virtual assistants can connect with other smart home devices and conduct voice search.

The Google Home. Image via Google.
The Google Home. Image via Google.

Other than aesthetics, the biggest difference between the two speakers is multi-room support. Several connected Google Home devices can be set up around the house. The speaker also connects with Chromecast and Chromecast Audio devices, meaning the device has more control over home entertainment.

Google has been playing catch-up with Amazon since the Echo launched and quickly became a surprise hit two years ago. Google is a more likely candidate to be on the cutting-edge of the smart speaker market, with its robust artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and search infrastructure.

Read The New York Times’ analysis of why Amazon became the “accidental winner” here and look out for more details about Google Home during Google’s event Tuesday.

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