Leaked Google Home Hub could take on the Amazon Echo Show
Images and an FCC filing might show Google's take on a smart display.
Update, Sept. 20: Google has submitted an application to the FCC for an "Interactive Video Streaming Device" that could well be the Google Home Hub. The original story on the leak, first published Sept. 18, follows.
After letting Lenovo and JBL go first, Google might be ready to roll out its own version of a smart display. Mysmartprice on Tuesday showed off leaked renders of a device supposedly called the Google Home Hub. The Google Home Hub should combine a simple touchscreen with voice controls through Google Assistant .
The Amazon Echo Show was the first major smart display. Google initially threw its hat into the ring by announcing four third party competitors equipped with Google Assistant at CES . Since then, the Lenovo Smart Display and the JBL Link View have hit the market, and both are good devices and marked improvements over the Echo Show.
Even as those devices rolled out, we heard rumors that Google was working on a smart display under the company's own brand, so this leak makes sense. The timing also works, as Google's upcoming event on Oct. 9 would be the perfect place to announce a Google Home Hub.
Google declined CNET's request for comment on the leaks. According to mysmartprice, the device will come in chalk white and charcoal and feature a 7-inch screen. Otherwise, expect functionality similar to the Lenovo Smart Display and the JBL Link View.
You'll be able to command the device to do a wide variety of tasks thanks to Google Assistant, and it'll show you info if you ask about restaurants, the weather and more. On both Lenovo and JBL's device, I found the recipe assistance particularly helpful.
If the Google Home Hub is real, Google will hopefully give it a few extra features to help it stand out from the increasingly competitive crowd of smart displays. We'll likely find out for sure in October.
