Fresh on the heels of the unveiling of Amazon Echo Show, we have today been treated to the complete information of Windows 10’s upcoming powerful feature called HomeHub. This feature was the center of attraction of leaks earlier last year as it effectively turns any Windows 10 PC into an Echo competitor — with a screen. It can not only handle basic voice functions and automation but it also creates a shared environment.
Earlier, it was being suggested that HomeHub would power the Cortana speaker but The Verge has now gotten its hands onto internal concept images that depict something entirely different. The HomeHub won’t be a speaker-focused platform but extend to Windows 10 PCs to take the shared experience another step forward. It gives us an impression at what Microsoft has in store to take on Amazon Echo devices, especially using existing Windows 10 devices.
As per earlier reports, the HomeHub technology has been described as:
a Windows 10 feature designed to make your PC the center of your home, by making shared PCs more communal and bringing the connected home to Windows.
The leaked images, attached below, show that Microsoft is planning to redesign the welcome screen of your PC to make it compatible with the HomeHub feature. Instead of showing just the time/date, the homescreen will now most likely be always-on and provide the families with to-do lists, notes and calendar appointments. It will also directly integrate Cortana voice assistant support into the home screen for instant access to several skills-apps.
Several reports have also suggested that Microsoft was working with third-party hardware partners, probably HP, Acer or Lenovo, to build HomeHub-oriented devices. But, the images attached above show that the company has changed its stance on the whole idea of distributing this feature. It will most likely come clubbed with the next major Windows 10 update, arriving later this very year.
With Build 2017 developer conference just moments away, HomeHub can be announced as part of the ‘Redstone 3’ update today on stage. If this new feature comes coupled with the next major Windows 10 update, arriving in September, then it will mean Microsoft is willing to sacrifice some revenues in name of competition and market share.
This means Microsoft is planning to differentiate itself from Amazon Echo Show by not only providing you a voice assistant-powered speaker with a screen. Instead, Redmond wants to provide you the complete and updated Windows 10 experience in addition to their smart home features. It will take on Echo Show by providing major features, such as searching, audio, and video calling to the masses. The HomeHub feature may not sound like much to some, but it could make smart speakers a mass market device — available through any Windows 10 device — used as PC during the day at work and speaker at home.
In addition, just like the Amazon Echo, HomeHub is also planning to include support for smart home devices. It will support gadgets from makers like Phillips Hue, Google’s Nest, Insteon, Wink, and Samsung’s SmartThings. Windows 10 will enable users to even add and control other connected devices right from the home screen. It will also have an exclusive application of its own, to provide users a central dashboard to control their Hue lights or Nest thermostats.
We can expect to hear more about the HomeHub tonight during the keynote speech at the Build 2017 conference being held in Seattle (in exception to the usual location — California). It will come as part of the next primary Windows 10 update and we can expect to see hardware supporting the said feature at the Shangai event, scheduled for May 23.
