Google’s Next Gen Home Smart Speaker Hub Could Also Serve As Wi-Fi Extender?

Challenged by Amazon's Echo speaker, the second generation Google Home smart speaker is now reportedly coming to possess a few interesting features which will certainly favor the consumers. Reports claim that the upcoming Google Home smart speaker will include a Wi-Fi router with mesh networking.

The gaining popularity of smart home devices is pushing both Google and Amazon to come up with innovations that will cater to their consumer's needs. Currently, Google Home smart speaker and a Google Wi-Fi mesh router with internet connectivity can be bought separately. Hot Hardware reported that with the next-gen Google Home speaker, consumers can have the best of both worlds. The latest version of the intelligent speaker includes a built-in mesh Wi-Fi networking.

Merging both products into a single box is an all-in-one solution buyers can take advantage of. With this development, consumers will have no need to shell out extra money for a Wi-Fi router as the device purportedly comes in with a built-in one. It also suggests that all other devices will be able to connect to the upcoming Google Home's network as well.

For those who already own a Wi-Fi router, having the built-in second generation Google Home ensures a strong network signal even in areas of weak coverage. Each speaker acts as a signal repeater for your home Wi-Fi network, thus helps to extend coverage to dead zones. Speculations of a version with a microphone and speaker-based Google Wi-Fi router are in future talks but no concrete plans are reported as of the moment, as per Ars Technica.

Reports fail to mention when Google intends to officially launch the updated version of the Google Home smart speaker. Neither did it discuss what the possible price point of the device will be. Nevertheless, it could match up to the $180 price that Amazon Echo offers.