Google Assistant

This AI assistant promises to do a lot more than just chat. Give it a task, and it'll take over your mouse and your Web browser, work out a plan, and power through the job step-by-step – from booking a hotel to starting and running a business.

The new, second-generation Google Nest Hub is here, with one big change from its 2018 predecessor: it can track your sleeping patterns from a bedside table, with no wires or wearables required, besides offering all the smarts of Google Assistant.

Sweden's Zound Industries, the company that manufactures headphones and speakers under license from Marshall Amps, has announced the release of a new Bluetooth speaker called the Uxbridge Voice, which has Alexa built in and supports AirPlay 2.

Marshall Headphones has announced a useful upgrade to its wireless Major over-ears, which now come with Google Assistant.

First came the smart speakers, then came the smart speakers with displays – and the Lenovo Smart Clock is one of the most compact smart displays yet.

Bang & Olufsen has upgraded its wireless Beoplay A9 speaker (again), retaining the tried and true form, but building significantly upon the technology, including adding Google Assistant integration and Adaptive Room Compensation. Oh, and the power cable is now fabric coated.

Google Assistant, once again, is getting smarter. At the CES tech show in Las Vegas, Google has announced a slew of new features coming to the AI-driven digital assistant across smartphones, smart speakers, and smart home devices – including more real-time language translation.

The centerpiece of GE Appliances' announcements at CES this year is a smart home hub and rangehood combo. Called the Kitchen Hub, it's essentially a massive touchscreen that sits above your stove bringing together control of all your smart home appliances with Google Assistant built in.

After Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft (among others), today it was Google's turn to show off its new hardware for the next 12 months. Leading the way were the new flagship Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL phones, with mobile photography and phone AI once again to the fore.

The microphone of Panasonic's GA-10 speaker mightn't be the most responsive of similarly equipped devices, but when you leave it to do the talking rather than listening, this stylish speaker is more than capable of coming to the party.

​As Amazon targets children with the release of its Echo Dot Kids Edition, concerns are being raised over the effects voice assistants could be having on children. Is teaching kids how to politely command Alexa enough, or are there long-term developmental consequences to children using such devices?

In the ongoing smart speaker battle being played out between the Google Home and Amazon Echo ranges, there was one Amazon product that Google didn't have an equivalent for: the Amazon Echo Show, a speaker with a screen. That's about to change with the Lenovo Smart Display.