The Echo Show was Amazon’s first Echo-branded device to feature a display. This smart display was powered by the company’s Alexa assistant and it allowed users to do more than what they could on any other Echo device. It was first reported then that Google could be working on a similar device and while we haven’t heard a lot about its plans for such a device, a new report suggests that the possibility of Google releasing such a device still exists.
Variety reports that Google VP Rishi Chandra has suggested that Google hasn’t given up plans to launch its own smart display device. Chandra was previously involved with the development of Google’s popular Chromecast streaming device and was recently promoted to oversee the product management of Google’s entire lineup of home devices.
The company hasn’t done much in this space so far aside from announcing partnerships with OEMs like Sony and Lenovo who are building their own smart display devices powered by Google Assistant.
When asked by the scribe why the company decided to work with partners instead of bringing its own smart display device to market first, Chandra said that this is a strategy that Google has long used for other devices as well. “It’s an emerging category,” he said, adding that “I’m not saying we are not going to do it.”
As for when such a device might be launched by Google, it’s anybody’s guess right now.
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