“It Understands Indian Accents”: Google Home and Google Home Mini Launch in India

What if you could play your favourite Sufi song while washing the dishes, or find the quickest route when you’re running late for work, or watch the latest Bollywood blockbuster after a tiring day? Do all of this from the comfort of your home with a simple “Ok Google”.

Google has launched the latest addition to its #MadebyGoogle family of hardware products in India – Google Home and Google Home Mini.  Powered by Google Assistant, Google Home and Google Home Mini are Google's voice-activated speakers that are customised for India. So next time when you are cooking in the kitchen, get an extra hand by asking it for step-by-step instructions (“Let’s make Dum Biryani”) or unwind in the evening with “Play songs from the movie “Satte Pe Satta” or just ask it to add “Atta” to your shopping list before heading out to the supermarket and you’ll have it right there on your smartphone. From your home to your smartphone, the Google Assistant works across all your devices -- it is the one assistant across your life. With the ability to understand context, it will help with things like your commute, your daily schedule and so more.

Google Home and Google Home Mini will be priced at Rs 9,999, and Rs 4,499 respectively and will be available for purchase online exclusively on Flipkart, and in over 750 retail stores across the country including Reliance Digital, Croma, Bajaj Electronics, Vijay Sales, Sangeetha, and Poorvika. Google Home Mini is available in two colours – Chalk and Charcoal – while Google Home will be available in Chalk. Coral will be coming soon.

The launch also comes with offers of Jio products further promoting the disruptive mobile data provider among the masses.  

Rishi Chandra, vice president of product management and general manager of home products for Google said, “These products have been customised to match the needs of the Indian consumer and you will see that Google Home is truly ‘desi’. It understands Indian accents, and will respond to you with uniquely Indian contexts. Another feature of our product is that the Google Assistant can work across all your devices.”

Taking inspiration from consumer products commonly found in homes like wine glasses and candles, Google Home is made to appear like an additional home accessory. The top surface has LEDs that light up when Google Home recognizes “OK Google”, so users know when it is listening.

Google Home has been designed with two microphones that utilize a technique called neural beam forming to enable accurate far-field voice recognition. Google has simulated hundreds of thousands of noisy environments and applied machine learning to recognize patterns that allow it to filter and separate speech from noise. This allows Google Home to deliver best-in-class voice recognition and minimize error rates -- even from across the room.

Google Home Mini is designed with no corners or edges. And it's small enough to be placed anywhere in your home. It’s almost entirely enclosed in custom fabric. Google has created this material from scratch, right down to the yarn.

Google Home has four key functional areas such as getting answers from Google, playing music and videos from subscription services, helping to manage daily tasks, and controlling smart devices around your home.