Google Made a Smart Lamp
Last week, a Google designer tweeted out images of a mysterious Google Assistant powered smart lamp. Dubbed the dLight, the lamp features an ultra-modern design with a white circular base with a thin metal post housing a cylindrical light. According to FCC documents, the lamp also offers internet connectivity, support for the Google Assistant, and the ‘Hey Google’ logo stamped on the side. A USB-C port is also reportedly included. But, consumers will probably never be able to buy dLight: according to 9to5Google, the lamp was made exclusively for Google employees, many of whom are will working form home due to the pandemic.
The NPD Take:
- Though this product is not available to consumers, it presents an intriguing glimpse into the future of voice enabled assistants. As companies such as Sonos partner with other companies (like Ikea) to manufacture table lights and other fixtures with speaker features built in- the goal of some users to have assistant access throughout the home could push manufactures to build more home products with connectivity.
- Like many Google employees, millions of US workers remain working from home- either full time or part-time. Adding connectivity and assistant access throughout the home workspace also presents an opportunity to drive greater usage and engagement of these applications for home work purposes.
Apple’s HomeKit Widget Gets an Update
Anyone with an iOS device and a Homekit certified device will be happy to hear the home widget for HomeKit was updated last week. First of all, the update finally adds support for compatible sensors, so users can keep track of all the entry and environmental sensors places throughout the house. The update also reimagines Homekit app shortcuts, now allowing them to run directly through the widgets instead of having to open the app first. Lastly, the widget windows can now be resized to better fit your iOS device screen.
The NPD Take:
- Though this is a minor update to HomeKit, the focus on improving the user experience should improve user engagement and drive more users to access Apple’s HomeKit platform. Reducing friction in Apple’s shortcut application is likely the most significant improvement with this update as the move will allow users to organize more of their applications and macro actions within HomeKit.