On our most recent IoT Podcast, Jeff called into our voicemail hotline and asked about something that I too have been struggling with: smart speaker overload. By overload, I don't mean having too many smart speakers but having these devices taking up … [Read more...]
Google Assistant on Sonos is mostly great, with just a few limitations
After a year-and-a-half of waiting, Sonos officially supports the Google Assistant. A Sonos software update is required and is in the process of rolling out now, first in the US, to be followed by the UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, France, The … [Read more...]
Is Mistral a next-gen mesh network Google Home Hub with ZigBee, or maybe even Thread?
Google appears to be developing a next-generation Home hub that will include mesh Wi-Fi, a ZigBee or thread-based radio and better audio quality according to the evidence I've found in Google's code base. The code I've unearthed refers to "Mistral", … [Read more...]
Why the market for smart speaker apps can’t possibly rival that of smartphones yet
Last month, I wrote about the large disparity of third-party apps and actions between Amazon Echo and Google Home devices, which prompted a great comment from Chris K, who said: It seems like many of these skills are there just because it is easy to … [Read more...]
Google Assistant needs more “action” if it wants to challenge Amazon’s Alexa Skills
It’s 2019 and after several years of growing smart speaker sales, the top two contenders — Google and Amazon — are now fighting back and forth for the top sales spot each quarter, even though Amazon's first-mover status provides it more lifetime … [Read more...]