Google Assistant support has come to Bang & Olufsen speakers as the company announced during CES 2018 this week that consumers would be able to interact with a range of its products all through voice commands using the Google Assistant technology. While the company doesn’t mention specifically which devices will actually end up having support, it does state that it’s going to be available for both speakers and TV audio, meaning general speakers and things like Bang & Olufsen’s sound bars or other home theater equipment should both be included.
The new compatibility is confirmed to work with the Google Home and Google Home Mini, but it should also work with the Google Home Max, and Google Assistant on smartphones or other mobile devices as well as any smart speaker that actually has Google Assistant integrated into it, such as the JBL Link View. For those that don’t have a Google Home speaker or any form of Google Assistant product, it’ll eventually be possible to voice control Bang & Olufsen products directly as the company plans to implement a series of updates later this year that will bake Google Assistant into its product lines, which could also mean that future products that have yet to hit the market will have this technology and functionality as well.
Again there is a lack of specifics here as no exact time frame for the software updates have been stated and not all products will be getting the update. According to Bang & Olufsen’s announcement Google Assistant will be coming to “select product lines” throughout the year but that’s all that’s been mentioned for now. That means some consumers may have B&O products that won’t be getting updated to include this digital assistant technology. In addition to the Google Assistant voice controls consumers will still be able to interact with their B&O speakers and audio products in the same ways they always have, which includes both the physical touch interaction via on-device buttons and controls, and through the B&O companion apps that can be installed on smartphones and tablets for management and control of specific products. That said, Google Assistant is likely to be the most convenient especially if you want to adjust the volume from across the room and either don’t have your mobile device on your person or don’t have your hands free.