Google's Assistant is headed to a lot more hardware
Google's Assistant will soon be in a lot more places.
The company is opening up its Assistant to developers who want to incorporate the digital helper into their own hardware, Google announced.
Interested developers can now take advantage of a preview version of a Google Assistant software development kit (SDK), which allows them to make hardware prototypes that have Google Assistant built in.
These can be anything from robots to other "smart" devices like connected light bulbs. Once the SDK is integrated, they're able to respond to "OK, Google" commands and other prompts just like the assistant does for Google Home or Pixel phones.
The tool is still only a preview and it sounds like Google is, for now, envisioning this more as an opportunity for developers to experiment, rather than opening up its assistant to official partners the way Amazon has done with Alexa.
But it does seem like that's on the roadmap for the not-so-distant future. The company has a contact form for people who want to make commercial products, and Google's I/O developer conference is just a few weeks away so we're likely to hear a lot more about the company's plans for its Assistant very soon.
Topics Alexa Amazon Google Google Assistant
Karissa was Mashable's Senior Tech Reporter, and is based in San Francisco. She covers social media platforms, Silicon Valley, and the many ways technology is changing our lives. Her work has also appeared in Wired, Macworld, Popular Mechanics, and The Wirecutter. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and watching too many cat videos on Instagram. Follow her on Twitter @karissabe.
