Google Assistant is discreet about third-party products, its designer has decided to reserve the assistant for its products rather than pursue partnerships with little or no profitability.
In an October article, they generally write better informed The information reported on new strategic directions at Google, including a downward revision of partnerships that allow third-party manufacturers to integrate Google Assistant into their products, including speakers or soundbars.
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Google, like Amazon, would struggle in vain to generate revenue from operations around its voice assistant, and the royalties paid would not weigh heavily against the necessary investments in development.
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According to the specialized blog multiroomwhich conveys a trust from one of these third-party manufacturers (unnamed), this disappearance of Google Assistant from speakers or soundbars is already recorded and visible.
The blog reviewed several hardware from major brands – Bose, JBL/Harman Kardon, Bang & Olufsen – announced in recent months as Google Assistant is no longer offered. Or with a few subtleties.
At Bose, the Smart Soundbar 900, launched in January, integrates Google Assistant, while the 700 model, marketed since October, no longer has it. You have to go through a third-party app that acts as a gateway to the soundbar.
On speakers such as Level, Beoplay 9 and Balance, Bang & Olufsen offers the choice when ordering between a model with or without the integrated assistant (the price is the same, however). As for the Beosound Emerge, it originally had Google Assistant, but part of its technical documentation, which was revised a few months ago, no longer mentions it.
We could also mention Sonos, but the situation is not entirely clear, especially since it is in legal conflict with Google. The manufacturer still has products with a built-in assistant, like its Beam 2 bar, but it is from the end of 2021.
The only product launched in 2022 is a subwoofer, and in the meantime Sonos has unveiled its own voice assistant. Rumored future large speakers are likely to give a more accurate indication.
So many clues that testify to an evolution where Google tried to place its little genius everywhere before noticing that user requests ultimately don’t yield much or that it’s not easy to monetize these interactions: Google Assistant doesn’t read advertise loudly…
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