Google Home confirmed to launch in the UK in June

Google Home, Google’s home assistant and rival to the Amazon Echo, will launch in the UK this June, according to the BBC. Home has been available in the US since October 2015 and at the time of launch, Google could only say it was “coming soon” to the UK, but no word on when it would make its way to other markets. Now, Google has confirmed the good news at Mobile World Congress.

• What is Google Home, how does it work, and when can you buy it?

Google Home works in a similar way to Amazon Echo – which has been available in the UK since September 2015 – by acting as a control centre for your entire home. You can use it to control a wide range of smarthome products, such as lighting and thermostats; playback music, with support for Google Cast; and ask it any number of questions with results delivered direct from Google’s search engine.

Baked into Google Home is Google Assistant, Google’s new Siri-like voice assistant that can hold conversations with you and understand follow up questions in context. For example, if you ask “what films are playing tonight?”, it will be able to tell you listings at your local cinema, tell Assistant you want to take the kids, and it will reply with films that are child-appropriate. 

• Google Home review: Better than Amazon Echo?

Other features of Google Home include a built-in speaker and interchangeable bases to change the colour and textured finish. 

Google still hasn’t said when it will go up for pre-order, or how much it will cost, but it’s still good news nonetheless.