Essential Home is a Smart Speaker Designed with Privacy in Mind
With Apple rumored to unveil a Siri-powered smart speaker at WWDC next week, another new competitor has been announced – the Essential Home.
The Essential Home is powered by its own OS - Ambient.
Headed by Android creator Andy Rubin, Essential’s new high-end Android phone has been teased for months. But the smart speaker is a bit of a surprise.
The headlining feature looks to be its circular screen and OS designed specifically for the product – Ambient. It’s designed to show information proactively without you needing to request it. For example, if you need to leave early to make a meeting, the speaker will let you know.
On the home automation side, the voice-controllable speaker will apparently be compatible with Apple HomeKit, Nest, Samsung’s SmartThings, Google Assistant, and Amazon’s Alexa.
With a major focus on privacy, the Essential Home runs the AI locally on the device and limits the amount of information sent to the cloud.
It’s currently unknown when the speaker will hit the market. Also, no retail priced was announced. Rubin is expected to talk more about the device at the Code Conference tonight California.
