Google Home Hub will put Google Assistant up against Amazon’s Echo Show

Google has just announced the Home Hub at its fall hardware event — a new Google Assistant device that looks like it’ll compete with products like Amazon’s Echo Show and the newly announced Facebook Portal by adding a screen to its existing Google Home device lineup, as revealed in an accidentally posted event recap video spotted by David Ruddock.

According to Google, the goal with the Home Hub is to create “a more helpful, thoughtful home,” with the added dimension of being able to see responses from Assistant, instead of just hearing them. Google has revamped services like Search, YouTube, Maps, Calendar, and Photos for Home Hub, to add both voice controls and glanceable information.

Interestingly, unlike Amazon’s Echo Show or the Facebook Portal, there doesn’t seem to be a camera on the Home Hub, meaning that you won’t be able to use it to video chat with friends over, say, Google Hangouts — but it also means that you won’t have the same privacy concerns that people tend to worry about with the all-seeing eyes of the Echo Show or Facebook Portal.

Hub also has a new feature called Home View, a one-stop dashboard for controlling and managing all the smart home devices in your home. It’s similar to the dashboard that Apple provides with its own Home app, and like Apple’s solution, you’ll be able to access Home View using the updated Google Home app to control your smart home gadgets on the go. Given that Google owns Nest, integration with those products is to be expected — so Hub can show you Nest doorbell video feeds, for example.

When you’re not using the Hub actively, you’ll also be able to use it as a Google Photos-integrated photo frame. There’s a new feature called Live Albums, where you’ll be able to select specific people, and have Google automatically create albums with every photo of those people, using machine learning to filter out bad shots or blurry photos.

Google also showed off a new step-by-step recipe feature — the company says that its “the best display made for the kitchen,” and features a “huge library of recipes,” including one from popular recipe site Tasty. The company also made a point of showcasing YouTube support, which integrates with Assistant’s voice control in what feels like a pointed jab at Amazon (which, due to the ongoing spat with Google, can’t support the same level of YouTube integration on its Echo Show devices.)

The Home Hub is also set to support Google’s Voice Match feature, meaning it’ll be able to recognize different users’ voices and pull up calendars, commute times, reminders, and more right on the home screen. Hub can also adjust to the ambient light in the room, using a dedicated sensor to adjust the display for the lighting in real time.

Like Google’s other Home devices, you’ll also be able to use the Home Hub as a speaker, with support for YouTube Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and more. You’ll also be able to use it as a multi-room speaker with other Google Home or Chromecast Audio devices.

Specwise, the Home Hub features a 7-inch LCD touchscreen display (Google hasn’t said what the resolution is yet), a “full-range” speaker, and a two microphone far-field mic array, as well as support for Bluetooth 5.0.

Google had originally announced its Smart Display platform back at CES in January, which launched over the summer with third-party devices like the Lenovo Smart Display and the JBL Link View. But much like with the Pixel line, the Home Hub is Google’s own spin on the “Assistant-with-a-screen” device, ready to show everyone — including Amazon and Facebook — how it’s done.

The Home Hub comes in four colors: green (Aqua), pink (Sand), dark grey (Charcoal), and white (Chalk) and includes six months of free YouTube Premium service. It’ll be available on October 22nd for $149 in the US, UK, and Australia, with preorders starting today.