Big Audio Dynamite: The Google Home Max Review

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

One of the more interesting segments in consumer electronics is the smart speaker market. Smart speakers are exciting because they are a culmination of various intersecting technologies. You have cloud computing, A.I., voice assistants and you also have audio technology.

Watching the smart speaker segment progress is like watching an intense chess game with each speaker release quickly countering a rival's previous move. One opponent releases an Amazon Echo, Google counters with Google Home. Amazon introduces the Echo Dot, Google rolls out the Google Home mini. Sonos unveils Sonos One, Apple drops the HomePod. What's more surprising is that none of these products were available three years ago.

Google's Home Max is a two-move checkmate, it follows the small and affordable Google Home mini and the original Google Home with a large format, hifi-focused smart speaker. I have been using the Google Home Max for close to four weeks as the main music source in my bedroom. Here's my review.

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Microsoft Xbox One will soon reportedly support Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant

It seems there will be more assistant options coming to the Microsoft Xbox One soon, if rumours are to be believed. Windows Central reports that upcoming versions of Xbox One dashboard will add support for both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. This’ll be available through a skill on both platforms. At the moment, Cortana is the only supported digital assistant on the Xbox One through the Kinect accessory or a headset. This rumoured addition could mean that you might be able to control your console through them. But it isn’t clear what features will be supported or if you’ll still need the aforementioned accessories for it to work. We’re banking on the idea that you wouldn’t need it.

Amazon recently brought on board Microsoft Xbox veteran Albert Penello to “help figure out how to grow Alexa/Echo presence in gaming.” If this integration is true, then that means the platform is a step closer to making that happen. Microsoft and Amazon are already working to integrate Alexa and Cortana on all Windows 10 PCs.

Source: The Verge

LG adds Google Assistant support to its new TVs

The new LG C8 OLED TV can run Google Assistant

If you own LG’s 2018 OLED and Super UHD LCD TVs, you now have access to Google Assistant. This was first announced at CES 2018 but is now made live to coincide with Google I/O. What Google Assistant brings to LG is being able to talk to your TV and control it as well as control any other compatible smart home devices—including almost 100 smart appliances from LG alone. Combining Google’s tech with LG’s ThinQ tech, you can speak through the built-in microphone on the remote and have it do things like find and play content, do web searches, switch picture modes, turn off the TV, and control the sound bar. If you own a Google Home speaker and connected it to your TV, you don’t even need to use the remote.

Source: CNET

Google Maps will finally get Google Assistant

You may or may not have noticed but Google Maps’ navigation mode has been using Google’s old voice search functionality all this time. Finally, that’s going to change in the near future. Google announced at Google I/O 2018 that Google Assistant is finally coming to the app. It’ll be rolling out to Android devices this summer and will be coming to the iOS Maps app later in the year. Unlike it’s usual format of having Google Assistant take up most of the screen, on Maps it’ll show up as a small bar at the bottom of the navigation screen.

Source: Android Police