Google and Amazon Battle It Out In CES 2018

The company announced at the show that it was brining Alexa to Windows 10 PCs, starting with HP. To that end, Google has stepped up its support, making sure that its partners have everything they need, and promoting Google Assistant on third-party devices as much as possible.

While last year’s push was to get Google’s smart speaker lineup up to speed, this year’s focus will be on the smart display.

Amazon is trying hard though, it came in hot with the Fire TV Stick, having done its homework and frontloading its Prime video service with exclusive Indian content, it also started selling its Alexa enabled smart speakers in the country a year ago, something that Google has yet to do.

Meanwhile, Apple ( AAPL ) was a no-show at CES again and missed an opportunity to be part of the conversation about voice assistants and the smart home with its Siri and HomeKit efforts.

Google launched into CES with a bang, and their presence is surely not to be missed.

Amid the competing partner announcements for Google Assistant and Alexa, there’s word that Google is planning a big consumer push for its personal assistant to combat Amazon’s stubbornly high market share in the smart speaker space. The research came from NPR and Edison Research, and found that 16% of Americans own a smart speaker, putting the figure at around 39 million people.

Google said on Monday its voice-controlled virtual assistant will show up this year in new tablet-like devices designed by LG Electronics Inc and Sony Corp as the technology company seeks to challenge Amazon’s dominance in a fledgling market. Why can’t it be, for instance, your Google Home Mini conveying your instructions from a more distant place?

The pair are also working to make certain Alexa capabilities available to drivers when the vehicle is not connected to a network. The device will respond to requests and control smart tech, and the addition of a screen means it can display images and YouTube videos, and make video calls.

The LG Smart Ecosystem has been contributing to the smart home industry in many ways. It’s announced a range of new gadgets featuring its assistant on everything from smart displays to pressure cookers.

As for products with Google Voice integration, Klipsch confirmed that the products that will come with Google Assistant built-in will include its Heritage Wireless speakers, the Heritage Three and The Heritage One. The company will also roll out Assistant to more Android TVs including AirTV Player, Bouygues Telecom, LG U+, TCL, Skyworth and Xiaomi.

Scott Huffman, Google Assistant vice president of engineering, who appeared at LG’s news conference as a guest, said he was confident that the artificial intelligence assistant could work in many more household items.

We’re still at the beginning of all of this, but thus far, Microsoft’s approach to the assistant feels fairly noncommittal.