After 90 minutes of focusing on specialized developments in Google’s software, Google I/O 2022 ended with a quick list of Pixel hardware announcements that made the tech world furious. But beyond the hype, Google hasn’t actually given us a lot of serious information about them, except that they’ll be “Better Together for You” and rely on Tensor and Assistant.
Some of my co-workers think so is Google Finally creating a compelling ecosystem (Opens in a new tab) With Apple tech connectivity flawless “The Walled Garden”. A skeptical colleague thinks Pixel devices are Just a vanity project (Opens in a new tab) This will lead to a loss of money while attracting people to invest in Google programs.
Whether you believe in Google’s new hardware push or doubt its success, Google itself has all admitted that its hardware is a means to an end.
Only Google will proudly announce that its devices will be completely invisible and interchangeable in the future.
In the aftermath of the I/O conference, most people remembered Senior Vice President of Google, Rick Osterloh, up his sleeve to show off. pixel clock. But he kicked off his time on stage by saying that Google wants to take an “ambient computing” approach that “gets technology out of your way,” where “it doesn’t matter what device you’re using.”
what does that mean? That “your front door knows when to shut itself down” or “your TV pauses when you wake up for a snack”, without any user interaction. This is the kind of future home stuff we’ve been promising for years, built on the back of new initiatives such as issue All smart home devices work with any ecosystem.
Immediately, Google will soon launch LaMDA 2 with AI Test Kitchen. It’s a revamped AI platform that can help guide you in growing a vegetable garden (or any other challenging task) by giving you a step-by-step list of what you need to do and answering your questions. He can have detailed conversations on topics such as “What does the ocean floor look like?” Answer follow-up questions such as “What is the temperature?” without confusion or tracking.
LaMDA can give Tensor-powered Pixel devices a huge intelligence boost and give Google Assistant an edge over Alexa and Siri to provide useful information.
For Google, hardware specifications don’t matter as much as the software that supports the hardware.
In Google’s vision of the future, the Pixel phone, tablet, smart displays, etc. are all completely interchangeable. They all give you access to conversation assistant and smart home automation, so you can simply choose the device you prefer as the hub controller.
They haven’t talked about hardware specs or features because these devices won’t work for months and plans might change; But arguably, it’s also because of Google that specs don’t matter as much as the software that powers the hardware.
You can almost spend a lot on the Pixel 6 Pro if you want a premium experience, but you can spend $449 Pixel 6 A Or a $49 Nest Mini that will give you access to the same tools. Rather than create the new Nest Hub that is the “ultimate” console for the Google Home, Google claims He renamed the Nest Hub the Pixel Tablet. Because if you can access the Assistant and control your home from any device, why buy a traditional smart screen?
From a Google perspective, this all makes perfect sense. It’s pushing an entire lineup of devices for the first time in years, with the hope that increased Pixel sales will prompt users to buy Watch or Buds next. But even if most of its new devices don’t sell well, it doesn’t matter as long as collective Keep enough users dependent on Google Assistant and Home instead of Alexa and Echo.
From user Perspective, it’s great that Google makes its devices interconnected but not interconnected, which means you don’t need to spend thousands like you do on a whole bunch of Apple products.
But I also don’t know if “our stock devices will fade into the background and all offer similar features with little difference” is a winning strategy. Android users like to fiddle with settings and install launchers, not sit back and let an invisible algorithm do all the work. And if you own a Pixel 7, what exactly is the incentive to buy the tablet, aside from the interconnection?
We also have to ask if Google’s focus on ambient computing is something we really want. Is automation the ultimate goal of a smart home?
We already see ambient computing working with devices like thermostat nest, which will adapt to the temperatures based on your energy bill and your habits. And you can certainly use a smart security system to program files smart lock To lock or unlock based on your phone’s location. This is not a foreign concept.
There will always be circumstances where surrounding computing does not work as intended or cannot expect exceptions to its algorithmic rules.
But no smart system that lacks conscious AI will really know if I want to pause the TV or not. Will you know I only go to the kitchen for ten seconds and don’t mind playing because I’ve seen this episode before? Only if Google really created an epic profile of my habits that would rely solely on me using Google products, which would then raise another can of privacy worms.
Google wants to use seamless automation to make the Google Home a more compelling option than Alexa. But I don’t think it will achieve that by taking users completely out of the equation. There will always be circumstances where surrounding computing does not work as intended or cannot expect exceptions to its algorithmic rules.
Instead, I think LaMDA could be the answer to one of the most annoying aspects of maintaining a smart home.
Imagine this: you buy a new file smart light panel And you want to bathe your bedroom with colorful light. But then you have to dive into the app’s settings, customize various presets, give it a name associated with the room, and then figure out how to associate those settings with Google Assistant actions so you can access them with a command. It’s a huge effort multiplied by the many smart bulbs you install.
What if, instead, you start a conversation with Google Assistant (or LaMDA) and say you’re setting up your Nanoleaf smart bulb. It instantly connects to the app and gives you a full list of everything you need to set it up, and manually holds you through the process so you’re not confusing. It sets up Google Home actions for you, but is there to guide you when to turn on the lights or which names to use.
I think smart home novices and veterans alike will appreciate help setting up LaMDA and guidance on creating routines themselves much more than the lights that automatically turn off when you leave the room or the coffee maker that turns on when you wake up.
If Google Assistant can adopt LaMDA’s firm focus, it can easily guide people to personalization smart home appliances for themselves, giving it a convenient advantage over Alexa. Google just needs to let people continue to drive their Assistant for themselves, rather than assuming they can really anticipate all of our needs.