Picking up from yesterday’s Part 1 of the conversation between Pacific Media’s Steve Pratt and Google’s Podcasts Product Manager Zack Reneau-Wedeen, today’s installment in the five-part series has Reneau-Wedeen evangelizing audio and planning its rise in Google information ecosystem. “There’s no good reason why audio isn’t a first-class citizen,” he said. Continue Reading
Google intends to double the podcast audience in a couple of years, and correct what it sees as an imbalance in Android’s share of delivery compared to iPhones. Some of Google’s podcast discovery and listening strategy is already implemented, and it shines a meaningful light on Google’s potential power to come from way behind Apple’s 13-year advantage in delivering podcasts to its iTunes and Podcasts app audiences. Continue Reading
Netflix has launched an interactive audio drama on Google’s smart speakers to promote its reboot of Lost in Space. The audio experience, which was produced in collaboration between Google and Netflix, gives listeners a branching narrative with multiple-choice questions and answers that lets them aid key characters from the program. Continue Reading
Google is joining the music and tech industries’ push into India, with the Google Home and Google Home Mini smart speakers expected to become available in the country, possibly later this month. When they do arrive, they’ll have support for two popular local streaming services. Continue Reading
Google is opening up a new option for musicians to curate their presence online. The company offers Posts, where verified people can supply content that appears in the Knowledge Panel when they are the subject of a search query. In effect, this allows artists to directly message their fans or potential fans. Continue Reading
Google has been using this week’s CES show in Las Vegas to continue making inroads into the voice control space. The company announced the launch of four new smart displays, which are touchscreen devices enabled with Google Assistant. The product segment is currently being positioned for use in the kitchen. Continue Reading
Google’s latest addition to the smart home speaker space has officially launched. The Google Home Max is now on store shelves both physical and digital. The launch draws Google’s smart speaker offerings closer in line to market-leader Amazon, although the Echo line is still leading in adoption. Continue Reading
Google and Amazon are at odds over access, marking a very public division between two tech giants that could cause interruptions for consumers. The two companies had appeared to resolve a question around access to YouTube on the Amazon Echo Show in late November, but Google has reversed course. Today, Google announced that it would not allow YouTube access on either the Amazon Echo Show or the Amazon Fire TV. Continue Reading
Amazon’s Echo Show has restored access to YouTube videos. The Amazon smart speaker, which has a screen, debuted in the spring but lost the ability to play YouTube clips in September. Google and Amazon each have their own take on why the service was suspended. Continue Reading
Google Assistant is getting its own song recognition software. The technology was first available on the Pixel smartphones last month, but it is now rolling out to all other Android mobile devices. Continue Reading
Google has acquired podcast company 60db. The short-form audio platform announced in a blog post that it will be joining Google starting November 10, but did not disclose price or financial details of the deal. Continue Reading
Google is expanding its footprint in the smart speaker space with two new products. The Google Home Mini is a puck-shaped option priced at $49. The Google Home Max is a larger version of the original Google Home with a more powerful sound system. Continue Reading