Essential CEO, Andy Rubin, is famously known as the father of the Android. He left Google back in 2014, where he already had a fulfilling career full of innovative developments in the tech industry. However, he moved on to spearhead something even bigger in tech. He created what is now one of the most popular operating systems in the world, Android. But even then, developing the Android wasn’t the end of his career. Rubin moved on to become the CEO of Essential Products, a brand new platform meant to compete with the powerhouse that is Apple.
Of course, as we progressively move into an era where IoT and home automation user experiences become increasingly more common, it’s no surprise that Rubin is working on building his own version of a smart home hub, Home, under Essential Products.
Essential’s new intelligent assistant can be activated with a question, a tap, or even a glance.
Most of Home’s competitors, like the Amazon Echo or Apple’s Homepod, are similar in design. But the design of Home is unique, where the auto-display is rounded and tilted. The silver plated bottom and matte black rim create a sleek look meant to match well with most home decor.
Besides the fact it shares a name with its competitor from Rubin’s former employer, the Home seems to be a smart hub that is unique to what’s currently on the market. It is clear that Rubin strives to distinguish his product, Home, from the tech giants he is quite familiar with, from the inside and out.
It is run on Essential’s new operating system, Ambient OS, which was developed for the smart home.
The development of Ambient OS was meant to open up its platform to all resources, similar to the deployment of the Android. With Ambient OS, Home is capable of running any virtual assistant you’d like on the Essential Home. The makers of Home intend to open the device to other makers to run whichever assistant they’d prefer – Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, or just about any other one that may be launched in the future. The goal of this is to provide consumers with choices and to not limit them to just one single smart home ecosystem.
Home aims to deliver contextual learning for its users.
In a blog post written by Essential’s Head of Engineering, Manual Roman, he expresses that the ‘key to Ambient OS is the belief that people should always be in control.’ He continues to point out that ‘it does not try to make your home smart by anticipating what you need’ but that it will recommend specific behaviors. It’s meant to give the user control of what they want to do, and not the other way around.
It’s unclear as to when the Essential Home will be released, but with the Essential Phone finally being shipped out to its customers, users will get a glimpse into what the Essential experience could really be like.
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