Google announced that Google Home will be available in the U.K. on April 6, along with the Google Wi-Fi router, according to TechCrunch.
The Google Home connected speaker is looking to compete with Amazon’s Echo, which launched in the U.K. last fall. But while the U.S. version of Google Home, which was introduced in November, offers some limited eCommerce options, there won’t be any of those services available in the U.K.
What it will do for the Brits is deliver news briefings from a selection of U.K. publications, including the BBC, The Guardian, The Financial Times, The Sun, The Telegraph, The Huffington Post, Sky News and Sky Sports. It’s also capable of playing music on command from a small selection of music-streaming subscription services, as well as command a small number of other connected devices, such as the (Google-owned) Nest thermostat, Philips Hue lightbulbs, Samsung’s SmartThings hub and Google’s Chromecast.
Google Home is being priced at £130 in the U.K. — slightly less expensive than Amazon’s Echo (£150), and the app-controlled Google Wi-Fi router will cost £130 for one unit (or £230 for two).
One important aspect of the speaker potential buyers should keep in mind is that any conversations recorded by Google Home will be data-mined by the company. Users will need to actually delete the conversation on their own, or it is kept forever. Even if you uninstall Google Home and delete your account, those conversations are kept unless you delete your history before deleting the account. Even after doing so, Google says it may also still hold onto some “service-related information” pertaining to your account.
