Google and Amazon want smart speakers to make calls

Amazon and Google are working on features to let their smart speakers call Echo and Home. However, there are still many question marks about the feature, such as how to hang up or how users can call an emergency number.

The functions for calling probably work via VoIP and presumably via a linked smartphone, writes business newspaper The Wall Street Journal. The function could replace the landline for people, the newspaper suspects. Voice commands allow users to call contacts or companies and then speak through the speaker.

However, the hang up command should be audible in the conversation, as the speakers have no buttons or any other means of input to hang up. In addition, it would be strange to always call at a volume at which it is audible to other people. In addition, both companies want to make it possible to continue a conversation on another device, for example a telephone, but that is difficult to put into practice.

Another hurdle is calling emergency numbers. That feature is mandatory for telephone services that allow users to call regular numbers. Integration with emergency numbers is still under discussion, sources tell the business newspaper. Also, users might find that their privacy is compromised if they make a call from a device that can always record sound.

Both companies would like to introduce the feature this year. According to newspaper sources, it would be the next logical step for smart speakers. The newspaper does not know whether the position will be available and when exactly. Google and Amazon have not yet responded.