Google Home is the hotly anticipated response to the Amazon Echo. It is an always-on always-listening speaker that is powered by the Google Assistant.

The voice activated speaker can take commands that can play music, podcasts and trigger supported home automation devices. In addition, it can also send video to any running Chromecasts in the house. Other features, which we have yet to see in action are support for shopping lists, notes, and reminders.

Google Home currently supports Google Play Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, Pandora and TuneIn in terms of music and podcast playback. Home automation support is currently limited to the Samsung SmartThings platform, Philips Hue Bulbs, Nest and anything that supports IFTTT.

Thanks to Google’s extensive knowledge graph, you can also ask and get answered most answers including the latest on weather, traffic, finance, sports, local businesses and more. The interaction is also context-aware, so when you ask about something, the follow-up question does not need to mention the initial object again.

The Google Assistant that powers Google Home is driven by machine learning (Artificial Intelligence). As it learns more about the users and their habits, over time it will be able to provide more and more details that are specific to that individual. Google Home will provide a run-down of your day in the morning, with information appointments, the weather and what the traffic will be like on the commute to work.

All in all, this looks like a good starting point for Google’s foray into the living room. While we cannot be certain until we see actual reviews, this looks to be a winner.