Google reportedly working on Amazon Echo Show competitor

Google forayed into the voice enabled smart speaker market with the Google Home to take on Amazon's Alexa Enabled Echo speaker. Recent reports have suggested that Google is working on a compact version of Google Home called Home Mini, as well as a larger version, Home Max (with stereo speakers).

That said Amazon is already one step further in the race, with its Echo Show, a speaker with touch screen display and Alexa voice assistant. However in a short span Google is playing catch up, as it is reportedly working on a similar device.

Accoridng to a report from TechCrunch citing multiple sources, Google is working on a tabletop smart screen device for video calling, codenamed Manhattan,  that will compete with Amazon’s Echo Show. Facebook is also reportedly working on a similar device codenamed "Aloha". 

Running on Android, Google's smart screen device is said to feature 7-inch display similar to Echo show, and come with Google Assistant, Google Photos, YouTube and video calling capabilities. It will also be able to function as a smart hub, and control Nest and other smart home appliances. 

It will support third party apps as well and play contents from streaming services like Netflix. The device is likely to come pre-loaded with Google's chat and video calling app Duo and Allo.

The report mentions that the original launch date of Google's smart screen device was mid-2018, but due to Amazon's Echo Show, it is facing internal pressure to launch the device this year itself. However, it may still end up being released in 2018, because Google need to establish smart hub partnerships. Unfortunately there is no hint at the device's pricing.

To recall, when Google released the Google Home, it was priced cheaper than Amazon's Echo speaker ($129 vs. $179). The Echo Show costs $300, so it will be interesting to see if Google again undercuts Amazon, when it comes to pricing. 

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