Google Home and Google Wifi launch in the UK
Google Home, with different coloured bases, and Google Wifi (left).
Google has launched its Google Home smart speaker and Google Wifi wireless router in the UK. Both products have been on sale in the US since late last year.
The Google Assistant-powered Home is Google's answer to Amazon's Alexa-driven Echo and Echo Dot. With the distinctly utilitarian wake-phrase 'OK Google', the £129 smart speaker will give voice-driven access to Google services like Search, Maps and Translate.
You can access media such as Google Play Music, Spotify, TuneIn and BBC Radio, playing music either on the Google Home device itself or on other connected speakers around the house, and send video to a Chromecast-connected TV. You can also create and query information in your Google calendar, set timers and alarms, and create to-do lists. Other compatible smart home devices from Nest, Philips and Samsung Smartthings can be controlled via Google Home too.
Google Home will be available on 6 April from the Google Store, at £129. It will also be on sale at Argos, Dixons, John Lewis and Maplin, and (soon) EE. The Google Store will sell you coloured bases for £18 (fabric) or £36 (metal).
Google Wifi comes in single units or as a 2-pack for mesh networking.
Google Wifi
Google Wifi is a puck-shaped 802.11ac router that plugs into your broadband connection and can create a mesh network delivering whole-home internet coverage. You can buy Google Wifi in single units (suitable for a small home) or as a two-pack system.
Google Wifi will also be available on 6 April, costing £129 (1-pack) or £229 (2-pack) at the Google Store. Argos, Dixons, John Lewis, and Maplin will also sell the router, as will Amazon.
According to Google, there are a few 'British treats' secreted in the UK version of Google Home, which ZDNet looks forward to discovering when review units become available.