Google Has Opened Google Home Device for App Developers

Google just announced that the Google Home personal assistant device is now open for app developers and integrations. This is big news for San Francisco Android app developers who have been eager to further integrate Google products into their mobile services. Conversations with the Google Home device are similar to those with other Google Now voice assistant products, with the prompt “OK Google” opening up the standard suite of voice-control options (and app integration commands, obviously).

The twist here is that deeper integrations are on the way with the Pixel phones and Allo chat, allowing artificial intelligence baked into the Google system to further reduce friction for customers using these products. Offering platforms on every category of device will give Google an edge that companies like Amazon don’t have, although they’re directly in competition with Apple on this front. (And who knows how Apple’s plans in the IoT arena will pan out.)

Google is partnering with a variety of groups including DashBot, VoiceLabs, Notify.io, and Spoken Layer to help smooth out the kinks for developers. Integrations are expected within the next week, which will open up myriad new opportunities and options for Android app developers approaching the new platform.

Pundits expect the Google Home product to be a long-lasting success, citing the popularity of IoT devices like Amazon’s Echo and Alexa, which is already a top-selling item for the Christmas season. Users are clearly primed and ready for always-on voice-controlled devices. While some consumers are concerned about the “always on” aspect of these products, it’s worth noting that they are ultimately less invasive than smartphones when it comes to privacy. They’re stationary, for starters, and don’t have camera connectivity for the most part. Security-conscious shoppers should audit and clamp down on their smartphone security before they start to worry about IoT assistants.