Google I/O 2016: Search giant unveils 'Google Home', the speaker which will run your life

Your support helps us to tell the story

Support Now

Find out moreClose

As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.

Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.

Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election

Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Google has unveiled Google Home at the I/O developer conference, its competitor to the Amazon Echo.

The small, white, button-free speaker will sit anywhere in your home, connecting to all your Google accounts as well as services like Google Maps.

By triggering the speaker with 'OK. Google', you'll be able to command it to complete a number of tasks - checking your calendar, telling you the weather, playing music, ordering taxis or booking cinema tickets.

On the face of it, the device is similar to Amazon's Echo, a black monolith which can conduct internet searches and generally run your life.

However, Google claims it is "unmatched" in being able to understand natural language.

At the moment, it's not clear exactly when Google Home will launch. The company said it's "early days" for the device, but it will be available later this year.

You can keep up with all the news from Google I/O on The Independent's liveblog.