After years of having it available for purchase on sites such as Lazada and Qoo10, Google finally launched its voice-activated smart speakers in Singapore yesterday — which also marks the first time the Google Home devices are officially available in Southeast Asia.
The Google Home and its smaller sibling Google Home Mini are now sold online via the newly launched Google Store, while the devices will be retailed at all StarHub, Courts, and Challenger stores islandwide from tomorrow onwards. Price-wise, the Google Home goes for S$189 and the hockey puck-sized Home Mini goes for S$79.
This would, of course, mean that Google has a leg up over its smart speaker rivals Amazon, whose Echo and Echo dot smart speakers haven’t made that much of a mark here, considering that Amazon hasn’t even launched a proper shopping site for the market here. Regarding Apple’s own HomePod… well, the lesser said, the better.
Regarding why it took some time for Google to officially introduce its domestic AI to Singapore homes, the company’s APAC Director of Product Planning & Partnerships Mickey Kim explained to Coconuts Singapore that they wanted to make sure to firm up local content and partnered services first before launching the product. According to the team, they first needed to study the Singapore market and how the population uses home automation and streaming services — and they feel that the time is ripe to enter now.
Made By Google
In any case, Google is making huge strides in making its hardware known in Singapore. Just last November, the tech giant made Google Assistant Singapore-friendly — the voice-controlled digital helper could comprehend Singaporean accents and support queries that require local context, such as directions to local locations and stores.
It’s this very same technology that can now make your home living smarter — Google Home supports popular home automation systems such as lighting control via Philips Hue and can stream videos to your television via the Chromecast dongle. Being proper speakers, the devices are also able to play music through streaming services like Spotify or Bluetooth connections, and even tune in to the radio.
Google Home also has the wonderful feature of reading out your daily briefing when you say “Good morning”. What it does is upon that command is read out the weather, the commuting conditions, and your calendar schedules for the day before playing the day’s news. Previously limited to international news sources such as BBC or NPR, Google Home now reads out the latest stories from local outlets, including The Straits Times, Channel NewsAsia, The Business Times, and more.
Other localized services include the ability to connect users to OCBC Bank, Singapore Airlines, and Bus Uncle, with more services to be made available in the future. One highly useful feature is the ability to order groceries from Redmart, for example, but Google Singapore isn’t able to confirm when it’ll roll out live ordering services. What it can confirm, however, is the fact that the product and its artificial intelligence will get “better and better” over time through more updates and partnerships with local services.
Big Brother isn’t listening
Being an always-on speaker that’s sitting right in the heart of homes, there exists a nagging worry that the device will eavesdrop on all your private conversations — a creepy concern despite the fact that having a Google Home (or a few) around the house is genuinely convenient.
It’s a concern that Kim alleviated to Coconuts Singapore. Assuring that Google takes user data protection seriously and makes consumer data processing transparent for all users, he provided several ways the Home and Home Mini devices are built to do so.
“First of all, it only processes data when the device hear’s ‘OK Google’ or ‘Hey Google’. Second of all, users will be able to see a light flashing on either device to know when it’s listening — it’ll give you more comfort. Users can also check out ‘My Activity Page’ to check out the exact history of their commands and have the control to delete them if they want to,” he said.
And of course, there are physical mute buttons and switches on the Google Home and Home Mini to give you extra comfort when you’re not using the devices. Or when you’re discussing classified government secrets over dinner.
Either way, why fear Google when we’re already living in one of the most highly-surveilled nations in the world? And one that plans to install smart lamp posts around the island with facial recognition technology powerful enough to catch bad guys?
If you’re ready to tech the heck out of your homes, check out the Google Store online, which also offers the brilliant (yet underrated) Pixel 2 XL and the lackluster Google Pixel Buds, among other products.
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