Google Home and Google Home Mini are coming to India, and the Pixelbook may make its debut as well.
Google Home made its debut back in 2016, and Google introduced the mini variant late last year. Both smart home products are available in select markets around the world, and they're now making their way to India. Google India announced on Twitter that both products are "coming soon" to the subcontinent:
Get ready to #MakeGoogleDoIt, at home too. Coming soon. pic.twitter.com/JuNvt3cpFE— Google India (@GoogleIndia) April 2, 2018
The timing makes a lot of sense, considering Google Assistant picked up Hindi compatibility earlier this month. Allowing users to converse with the Assistant on their Google Home or Home Mini will be a huge advantage for Google as it tries to take the fight to Amazon on this front.
Amazon rolled out its Echo family in India, and while Alexa has been thoroughly customized for the local market, for now, language compatibility is limited to English. Amazon has also added a ton of local skills — all designed to make the smart home speaker that much more useful for Indian consumers.
I've been using two Google Homes for over a year, and the overall experience is similar to what you'd find in the U.S. As the product hooks into Google services, it didn't have any issues detecting my location and tailoring weather updates and traffic routes, local restaurant and movie recommendations based on my locale.
Pricing will be an interesting factor, as that'll ultimately determine how successful the Google Home and Home Mini will be in the subcontinent. The Google Home retails for $129 in the U.S. (₹8,400), and the smaller Google Home Mini is available for $49 (₹3,190). Google's products command a significant markup in the country — with the Pixel 2 XL still costing over $950 — and it's likely we'll see a similar bump for the Google Home and Home Mini.
A report on Economic Times states Google is also looking to launch Google Wifi in the country as well, albeit over the course of the next year. The Pixelbook is also slated to make its debut in the country, along with Nest products. It'll be interesting to see what Nest products Google brings to India as central heating systems aren't really in use in a majority of the country, but we may get to see the brand's security cameras.
ET mentions that the Google Home will be priced at ₹9,999 ($155), with the smaller Google Home Mini set to cost ₹4,499 ($70).
Updated April 02, 2018 with tweet from Google India.
source: https://www.androidcentral.com/google-home-and-google-home-mini-could-make-their-way-india-april
date: Mon, 02 Apr 2018 11:17:00 +0000
Comments
Post a Comment