Andy Rubin is not content with creating just one essential innovation that changed the industry. He wanted something to top Android and so the Essential Phone was born. Still not content, Rubin wants people to watch out for his company's version of the Google Home and Amazon Echo - the Essential Home.
According to VentureBeat, the Essential Home is a home hub that will combine artificial intelligence and sensing technology to create an innovation called ambient computing. For simpleton, it means one can accomplish a number of tasks without having to touch his or her gadget.
VentureBeat provided an example of the benefits of ambient computing. If an owner of the Essential home hub is out and the weather is hot and sunny, he or she does not need to fiddle with a smartphone to command a smart home device to turn on the sprinkler system. The Essential Home will do everything on its own but there's a catch.
The success of the Essential Home will depend on its competitors. Rubin is hoping for Amazon, Google, Apple, Samsung and others to "play nice" with the new kid in the playground. The Essential Home will run on the new Ambient operating system. It will sense other smart products in the home provided they are on the same network. The main function of the Ambient OS is to connect all other smart devices in homes including those made by other companies. The Essential Home will thrive only if it can "talk" to the other devices and other digital assistants such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant.
There could be some sort of identity crisis with the Essential Home. Its name sounds like Google's smart speaker yet looks like the Amazon Echo Dot and works like the Echo Show. According to the renders posted on the company's official website, the Essential Home will look like a puck and have a screen. Rubin did not say anything more about the home hub to make further comparisons with similar existing devices.
Rubin announced the Essential Home during its unveiling of the much hyped Essential Phone. The former Google bigwig, however, did not divulge any details related to the Amazon Echo rival's price or date of launch and availability.
