(barge-in is voice commands while something the speaker plays something: the assistant's voice or music)
Google chose to angle the top area, which also means acoustic echo cancelation will be substantially better if you're in front than sort of behind.
It might make sense since it's we're talking about a directional, mono speaker; however it doesn't match with how they show it will be used in their own ad: a 360 radiating unit would be better suited for that.
Will their trained AI used as acoustic echo and noise cancelation work better as they say than the proven algorithms built for audio DSPs instead with a large array of microphones?
Will it be good enough to get your voice commands from a distance when you're listening to music or video content also?
We'll see! I hope the press will pay attention to evaluate that type of stuff 😉
The voice recognition performance in non-optimal condition is a primary element which will decide if this device will stay a proof of concept gadget that people stop trying to use quickly or a convincing platform for the assistant Google wants to build.
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Great initial thoughts. Do you have any plans to give initial thoughts on the Pixel camera? DxO have their review up on their website with samples images (though I don't trust DxO and their scoring).
+Alex Richards thanks, I'll check out the DXO page and samples!
I have no immediate plans with the Pixel's camera but I'm sure we'll see a lot of samples and comparisons from the usual suspects ☺️
Will you get a Google Home speaker?
I'm very tempted as I'm very much in the mind of not using my phone or tablet at all at home so the Google Home kind of makes sense when I need to know things. It's a very interesting idea which Amazon seems to have started with Echo but I'm still undecided, especially at the price point.