The Essential Echo Competitor

Andy Rubin's Essential unveils a home device together with its smartphone-- the Home, an Amazon Echo-style smart speaker featuring a round "auto-display," as well as increased security.

Essential HomeThe company says users can activate the Home with a question, tap or even a "glance." Like similar products it accepts voice commands, allowing it to answer questions, set timers and control lighting. It also promises to gently manage the user's life, reminding them of meetings or when they're about to forget an anniversary.

The software behind the Home is dubbed the Ambient OS-- a smart home operating system Essential says can "activate" the home by understanding the physical layout of the house, occupants and what services and devices are available. It is also described as an "API" to all these things in combination, allowing for IFTTT-style functionality (such as flashing lights when a timer goes off). Interestingly, it runs locally inside the Home device, ensuring increased privacy for users.

Essential still has to provide further details on the Home device, but it will initially be available only in the US.

Go Essential Home