Google declared war against Amazon's voice assistant, Alexa, at CES 2018, and the search giant just fired another shot in the direction of the world's biggest online retailer.
Google announced in Las Vegas that it will be taking on Amazon with four new products that use the Google Assistant and -- crucially -- include a screen.
Dubbed "smart displays," the new devices will respond to voice commands to the Google Assistant and will pull up relevant information for you on the screen, similar to the Amazon Echo Show.
For example, if you wanted to search for a YouTube video, you'd just say, "Hey, Google. Show me 'Charlie Bit My Finger' on YouTube." The device would then pull up the video and begin playing it.
So far, Google has commitments from JBL, Lenovo, LG, and Sony to make such devices.
The JBL Link View with built-in Google Assistant.Credit: JBLThe announcement is a shot across the bow of Amazon, which is currently one of the only tech companies to sell a dedicated voice assistant-controlled device with a screen.
Amazon has since expanded its Echo lineup to others that include a screen such as the Echo Spot — however Amazon critically does not work with other companies to build dedicated devices that use its voice assistant and include screens.
With this announcement, Google has effectively jumped on a big new trend and perhaps outmaneuvered Amazon. If it's determined that consumers prefer to have screens on their smart speakers, the partnerships could pay off in a big way.
Thus far, Amazon has dominated the voice assistant market with its Amazon Echo, one of the best-selling products of the 2017 holiday season. Whether it stays ahead of the pack remains to be seen.
For more of Mashable's CES 2018 coverage, click here.
TopicsAmazonAmazon EchoArtificial IntelligenceCESGoogleGoogle Assistant
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