Rumor: Google is working on a speaker with a touchscreen

Google would be working on a speaker with a touchscreen, as competitor Amazon has with the Echo Show. The speaker with touchscreen should, among other things, enable video calling and watching YouTube videos.

Google is working on the project under the name Manhattan, Techcrunch writes based on anonymous sources. The intention was initially to release the device in the middle of next year, but perhaps the search giant will bring the release forward. In addition to video calling and watching videos, the speaker will receive support for Google Photos and Assistant, the site reports.

A touchscreen in a permanent place in the house should persuade more people to buy a device with Google Assistant. The service currently works on phones and speakers. The disadvantage of the latter option is that Assistant can only provide answers in text and not in images. Displaying the weather forecast or visual information requires a screen.

It wouldn’t be the first time that Google has followed Amazon with the idea for a speaker. For example, the Amazon Echo came out two years before the search giant released its Home speaker. In addition, it is rumored that Google wants to release a variant of the Amazon Echo Dot with the Home Mini.

The information about the speaker with touchscreen comes out at a precarious moment. This week, Google disabled the competing Amazon Echo Show’s YouTube feature. Until this week, users of that device could see YouTube videos, but the search giant made that impossible.

The American company will hold an event in the coming week dedicated to the presentation of new hardware. There, the company can also show new speakers in addition to a 2-in-1 and two Pixel smartphones.

Amazon Echo Show