What better way to explore smart home technology then by using…other technology? That’s just what we recently did with the forthcoming Google Home product.
Google Home is a product that is meant to act as a smart home assistant, by allowing your household members to use your voice to trigger actions such as launching Google searches, playing music, and managing tasks. While there isn’t a release date on the product yet, we are expecting it to be available to the public “this year.”
I recently heard about an augmented reality app by the company Augment that would allow me to test drive the Google Home before it is in my hands (or anyone’s hands really). The first thing I did was check out their video, which shows you an animated 3D model of the Google Home Speaker, and details the bells and whistles of the program.
After I watched the video, I downloaded the app to try it out for myself. The app was a breeze to find in the Apple store, and only took a few moments to download and install – pretty typical stuff here. I did a quick search for “Google Home” and the product came right up. Once I allowed access to my camera, Augment gave me a live view of my desk, and I was able to plop the Google Home down with all my other stuff to see how it would look. I did have a little bit of trouble getting it to scale, and the pinch to size wasn’t working for me, but there were other features of the app that were pretty cool. Here are my favorite things about this app:
Color Selection. I loved that I was able to switch the base colors out to get a really good idea of what it would look like in my home setting.
3D View. This was probably my favorite feature. The view was crisp and big, and you could really get a sense of this product. Checking out the available colors was a great in this view.
Rotate. Another great feature. You are able to see the front, back, and sides of the device, along with the top and bottom.
Some other things you can do with the app are remove shadows, save to favorites, and share. You can also tap the speaker to expand it, so that you can see different views of how the device is put together.
My only complaint about the app is that is seemed to drain my iPhone battery. Well, that and I couldn’t resize the Google Home device. I was able to resize other devices that I tried though, so maybe it was just a bug.
About Augment:
Augment is an augmented reality (AR) company that uses AR to visualize products. In Augment, shoppers can explore products they’re looking to purchase in the near future. Visit the Augment YouTube page to watch more AR videos that bring products to life, or visit their website to learn more about their enterprise platform.
Photo by: Augment
