“Google Assistant Everywhere” Strategy on Full Display at CES 2019 – Here are all 55 Announcements

on January 21, 2019 at 6:43 am

Photo Credit: James Martin/CNET

CES 2019 was chock-full of voice assistant enabled devices. The inclusion of a voice assistant in devices was so common, Bret Kinsella likened it to 1,000 points of light in the night sky in the CES 2019 Day 3 Bonus Edition of Voice Insider Issue #21 — too numerous to count. The inclusion of voice assistants has become so pervasive that to ignore its inclusion would be to risk losing consumer interest in a product line. With that in mind, we thought it would be a good idea to take a deep dive into the one brand that announced some of the most notable integrations at this year’s CES – Google Assistant.

Google Seeks a Dominant Presence at CES Once Again

This year, Google took CES by storm once again, setting up a massive booth to showcase software and devices. There was even a Google Assistant ride, Google described it as “part ride, part marketing stunt,” according to CNET. The phrase “Hey Google” was posted on the Las Vegas Monorail, and over one of the main entrances of the Las Vegas Convention Center. An army of human “Google Assistants” dressed in all white roamed the show floor in multiple venues and partner booths, teaching visitors how the Assistant works with different products.

Google’s decision to have such a large presence at CES makes a lot of sense. It increasingly needs to push integrations with products as competition from Amazon, Apple, and Samsung is becoming fiercer. As time goes on, it will become harder and harder for new voice assistants to establish themselves in the voice space and Google wants Assistant to be pervasively available. Google has been working hard all year to grow Assistant’s presence, and their work was shown off when the company announced Google Assistant will be available on 1 billion devices globally before the end of January 2019. That is ten times more than the 100 million devices Amazon said had access to the Alexa voice assistant.

Google Assistant Connect

Google displayed its latest venture at CES, called Google Assistant Connect. Google Assistant Connect is a catch-all name for Google’s set of tools it is making broadly available to device makers later this year. The tools leverage an existing connected speaker with Google Assistant in order to deliver content as well as respond to commands that generally require access to cloud computing resources. It allows device manufacturers to benefit from an existing smart speaker’s capabilities without needing to integrate the technology themselves. It is very similar to the Alexa Connect Kit, which was used to allow Alexa compatibility in devices like the Alexa microwave. Google product manager, Lilian Rincon, said,

“We’re going to enable device manufacturers to create these devices at a lower cost and make them easier to set up.”

Photo Credit: Dieter Bohn/The Verge

The display at CES showed an example of what Google Assistant Connect might look like. One prototype was a small E Ink display housed in a 3D-printed case. It is able to receive notifications pushed from Google, like weather updates or traffic information. However, PCMag is reporting that it was unclear how the E Ink display was receiving data, and whether or not users would be able to ask Google Assistant on a smart speaker for updates on the E Ink display. The other prototype was a button housed in a cardboard box. When pressed, the button initiated a Google Assistant action.

List of Every Single Google Assistant-Enabled Product Announced at CES 2019

In total there were over 55 Google Assistant enabled products announced at CES 2019. Voicebot decided to organize that list by product type to help readers digest all the news. Links of a corresponding press release or Voicebot coverage are included for each. Enjoy.

Automotive

The JBL Link Drive; Photo Credit: 9to5Android

Smart Home – Kitchen

Smart Home – Security

Kasa Smart Video Doorbell; Photo Credit: Kasa Smart

Smart Home – Plumbing

Smart Home – Mirrors

Capstone Connected Home Smart Mirror
LG Styler Mirror Door smart closet
Kohler introduced the Alexa enabled Verdera Voice Lighted Mirror and Kohler Veil Lighted Collection, Google Assistant support already exists for the Veil Lighted Collection and is on the way to the Voice Lighted Mirror.
Simplehuman Sensor Mirror Hi-Fi Assist

Smart Home – Electrical

Philips Hue
Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch with Voice; Photo Credit: Kasa Smart
C by GE
Caseta Smart Switch by Lutron
Third Reality RealitySwitch
TP-Link Wi-Fi smart outlets
TP-Link Light Switch with Voice Assistant
Leviton Decora Voice Dimmer
Leviton Decora Wi-Fi Outlets
Leviton Decora Wi-Fi 4-Button Controller
Osram Lightify Smart Products
Sengled Smart Lights

Smart Home – Miscellaneous

Daikin One+ Thermostat
Ikea Fyrtur
LaMetric Sky
SolarEdge EV Single Phase Inverter
Lenovo Smart Clock; Photo Credit: Voicebot.ai
Vizio SmartCast 3.0
nVent Electric NUHEAT Signature
Resideo Technologies Honeywell Home T-Series Thermostats
Lenovo Smart Clock
Dish Hopper DVR
D-Link ‘Exo’ Mesh Router Series

Speakers

Sonos One and Beam
Sonos One; Photo Credit: Sonos
Klipsch soundbars 40G & 48W. New smart speaker, the Heritage Wireless Three
Vizio 36″ Sound Bar
LG Soundbars
JBL Link Bar
Get Together Mini

TVs/ Displays

LG 2019 Smart TVs: all of LG’s 2019 smart TVs will feature both Google Assistant, Alexa, and Apple AirPlay integration.
Samsung 2019 QLED TVs
HP Omen 65″ Gaming Display
Samsung 8K QLED TV; Photo Credit: Variety