Google has introduced several hardware products in the past but they were mostly just individual product but the introduction of the Google Home hub is probably going to be a game changer. When it hits the market later this year, the Google Home will be Google's vision for a smart home similar to Amazon's Alexa speaker.

Related: My doubts about the Smart Home

Powering Google's upcoming Home hub is the Google assistant which is one of the highlight features of Google's two new Pixel phones. Basically, the Google Assistant is a spruced up version of Google Now that is more personal and still features the same natural language search that Google Now pioneered. 

Additionally, the Google Home comes with a dual passive radiator design that is designed to produce Hi-Fi sounds. Also included in the Google Home Hub is a microphone that is used to activate the Google Assistant with the "Ok Google hotword". The Google Assistant will be able to do things like turning on lights, playing music, looking at calendar appointments and setting timers. 

As expect, the Google Home will support existing smart home appliances like the Nest thermostats and also Google's new Chromecast Ultra streaming dongle. But that's not all, since it was previewed during Google I/O 2016, Google has been working with other companies like Philips and Samsung to enable their smart home products to work with the Google Home hub.

The Google Home hub will be launching in the United States on November 2016 for US$ 129 (~MYR 530) and will be available in multiple metallic and fabric base(s).