Google‘s smart home assistants-cum-smart speakers, Google Home and Home Mini will be launched in India this month. This move has been widely anticipated, since Google rolled-out Hindi support for Google Assistant last month. A tweet by Google India has now confirmed the news. “Get ready to #MakeGoogleDoIt, at home too. Coming soon,” tweeted Google India, with a picture of the two devices.
Google’s rival on smart speakers space, Amazon has already launched its Alexa-powered devices, Echo Plus, Echo and Echo Dot in India way back in October 2017 itself. Alexa also has the benefit of a substantial library of local skills. However, Google Assistant‘s ability to understand and speak India’s national language, Hindi, might tempt Indians to go for the Google devices.
Hindi support for Google Assistant is the company’s weapon against Amazon, and it is evident from from the recent changes in imported Google Home devices in India. The process of localization for the Home smart services is already under way and a lot of it has to do with language recognition. Media Accounts menu in Google Home app now offers support for major Indian music streaming services, like Saavn and Gaana.
Along with Hindi support, Google has also tailored local Indian English dialects for better functionality. A new English (India) language, with Voice Match feature, has been spotted on local units.
There is still no specific release time frame available, nor any pricing for the Google devices. In the US, the Google Home is priced at $129 while the Google Home Mini retails at $49. If the prices are kept similar, the Google Home should be available at Rs 8,500 and Home Mini at Rs 3,100. But most of the web giant’s devices have seen substantial mark-ups when entering the country in the past, and this might pose a big issue in the competition against Amazon.
Both of the Google devices are expected to be available for purchase online as well as offline retail stores like Croma, Reliance Digital and others. Stay tuned as we cover all the proceedings on the matter.
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