Google Home has a HUGE event planned this week, here's what you need to know

Google will hold an event dedicated to its Google Home smart gadgets in the coming days. Unfortunately, the Californian company is keeping quiet about exactly what’s coming – but it’s safe to assume we’ll hear about improvements to connected speakers, smart home displays, and Chromecast streaming dongles. So, if you’ve got any of these Google-branded gadgets at home… it’s one to watch.

The event, which will be streamed online, looks set to cover some of the same ground as the Californian company’s annual developer conference, dubbed Google IO, which was scrapped due to the ongoing public health crisis.

The Google Home-focused event, which will kickstart on Wednesday July 8, promises to cover “new and upcoming features for smart home developers and users”. Imaginatively titled Works With ‘Hey Google’ Smart Home Summit, the event will include a 45-minute keynote presentation. Third-party developers whose services and apps tie-into Google Home smart home gadgetry will also be treated to a number of sessions about the new features.

An interactive panel with employees from Google alongside representatives from other companies in the smart home industry will also feature.

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Although the event is targeted to developers looking to support the latest initiatives and features from Google, smart home enthusiasts should find plenty to enjoy when watching the keynote. In the past, Google has used its Google IO developer conference to reveal new Google Home smart speakers, new software features coming to Google Nest smart home kit, and more. Google says it will “share our recent smart home product initiatives,” during the summit keynote.

During Google IO last year, the Mountain View-based company confirmed plans to rebrand its smart home kit under the Nest brand. Dubbed Google Nest, a new mesh Wi-Fi router and more generous Nest Hub Max soon followed. Earlier this year, Google overhauled its Nest Aware subscription to bring AI features and extended video history to more security devices at a more affordable monthly price.

Arch-rival Amazon, which currently has the best-selling AI-powered smart speaker with its popular Amazon Echo range, recently confirmed plans to bring its in-car assistant – dubbed Echo Auto – to the UK months after its debut in the United States.

Amazon also doubled-down on audio quality with the launch of its Sonos-inspired Amazon Echo Studio. It’s possible that we could see Google refresh its Google Home Max speakers this year in order to keep up with the competition.

Either way, it’s clear that if you’re deeply invested in smart home kit, this is one to watch.

Naturally, Express.co.uk will bring you news of all the announcements so you don’t have to watch the Works With ‘Hey Google’ Smart Home Summit, which – if the name is anything to go by – promises to be a bit of a drawn-out and unnecessarily complicated slog.

source: express.co.uk