LOS ANGELES — Hey, Google, what’s up with CES this year?
The annual consumer electronics show has been dominated by Asian tech giants Samsung, LG and Sony in recent years, along with a trade show floor featuring thousands of startups hoping lightning strikes with some Las Vegas-style luck.
What you historically don’t see at CES are the U.S.-based tech giants Apple, Amazon or Google, which tend to show off their new products at their own heavily produced media events later in the year.
Google looks to make a big splash at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, touting the Google Assistant. It’s advertising Google on the Las Vegas Monorail.
But CES 2018, which kicks off with events Sunday, will have a big presence from Google as it continues its push to take on Amazon’s Echo connected speaker.
The Las Vegas Monorail, which takes delegates to and from CES and city hotels, is splattered with a huge “Hey Google,” advertisement, one of the two “wake words,” people use to pose queries to the Google Assistant, most notably on the Google Home speaker. Google also has a large “Hey Google,” booth right outside the Las Vegas Convention Center.
In 2017, Alphabet-owned Google — which makes most of its money off digital ads — doubled down on hardware, rolling out the Google Pixel 2 phone, the Google Pixel Buds earbuds, and most significantly, those Google Home speakers advertised so heavily this past holiday season
Home competes with Echo, which Amazon said was its best-selling product overall during the holidays, specifically the pint-sized, $49.99 version, the Dot. Google’s answer to the Dot, the Mini, was aggressively priced for $29 at big-box stores such as Walmart, with cash gift cards for as much as $25 for purchasers. (It now sells for $49.99 again.)
The outside of the Las Vegas Convention Center
At CES, Google is expected to show off using the Google Assistant to turn on and off televisions, other branded speakers and smart home products, in addition to general queries about the weather and trivia.
A new line of TVs from LG, being shown off Monday, will feature the Google Assistant, as will a new LG speaker, according to major TV and appliance maker LG. Start-up Lynky has announced a new hub that acts as a universal remote for the smart home, operated by saying, “Hey Google.”
The “Hey Google,” booth at the Consumer Electronics Show gets put together
Patrick Moorhead, an analyst with Moor Insights and Strategy, says Google has quite a ways to go to catch up to Amazon, but showcasing its wares at CES will help close the gap. “Google needs more ecosystem partners, apps and devices,” he said.
CES attracts over 180,000 attendees and more than 4,000 exhibiting companies, and is a must ticket for most sections of the tech industry, if not to see and buy new products, then to meet up with potential partners and clients.
Apple smart home in other devices
Apple, which historically doesn’t exhibit at CES, will be on the trade show floor, showing up in other companies’ products via Apple HomeKit, just as Amazon’s Alexa is in smart TVs. The HomeKit software leverages the Siri personal assistant to operate smart homes, via apps on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch.
Unlike Google, Apple will be more understated, with several new products from other brands showing off HomeKit integration. They include a Wemo HomeBridge from Belkin, which will enable HomeKit control for the Wemo products that plug into outlets and control smart home use.
Apple HomeKit will also show off integration with security cameras from Netgear, faucets and shower heads from Kohler and Moen and Orbit sprinkler systems.
Kohler, which specializes in high-end bathroom accessories, is also making voice-activated products available via the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Kohler is touting voice commands for the kitchen faucet, an “intelligent” toilet, the lighting of a bathroom mirror and allow you to automatically fill a bath to a desired depth and temperature.
courtesy= usatoday.com
