Google appears to have a brand new “media device” coming through its tech product pipeline. A recent FCC filing has shed light on an upcoming release but also has people wondering what all the new tech gadget might feature.
The website TechRadar reported on June 1 about Google filing with the FCC for a “media device” which the company has yet to announce or identify to the general public. The FCC listing included a model number for the new Google item, “H2B,” which could mean it will be a part of the Google Home or Nest Hub family of devices.
Some of the early speculation based on the device’s diagram is that this may be a portable speaker with Google Assistant built into it. Part of the diagram showed off a “thin, pill-shaped profile” for the yet-to-be-identified device.
Google is currently competing with the likes of Amazon Alexa and Apple Siri voice assistants. Amazon sells a number of popular devices which feature Alexa on board. They include the Fire TV, Fire TV Cube, Echo Show, Echo Dot, and Echo speaker lineup. Apple sells the HomePod devices and is continuing to try to tweak their own device for the continuing integration of smart home technology.
Google’s first entry into the smart/interactive speaker realm was the Google Home, a larger-size speaker comparable to the Amazon Echo. They’ve since released the Google Home Mini speakers which are comparable to Amazon’s Echo Dot speakers. There is Google’s Nest Hub Max set to arrive in the future as more of a complete smart home hub. It’s a smart display gadget similar to the Echo Show from Amazon.
A portable speaker could set Google apart in the smart speaker market as Amazon previously had the Tap. However, hands-free devices seem to be more popular and Amazon Tap is currently discontinued on the retailer’s website. Amazon recently introduced the Echo Input as a way to “Bring Alexa to your own speaker.” Right now, Amazon doesn’t sell any sort of portable speaker branded as an Echo/Alexa item.
While the new FCC filing for the new Google “media device” is intriguing, it is a major mystery. The company has no major media events planned in the near future so it could mean a gadget is released without that sort of big publicity behind it. Time will tell if Google can capture enough attention with the new device to get into more homes or other areas.
Dil Bole Oberoi
