#home automation

Google has unveiled the new Google Home Speaker, its first smart speaker built specifically for Gemini, the company's AI-powered voice assistant. The Google Home Speaker is designed to make conversations with a voice assistant feel more natural. Powered by Gemini for Home, users can speak normally without memorizing specific commands. Aside from its AI capabilities, the Google Home Speaker features 360-degree audio and improved microphone processing to better pick up voice commands. As of writing, Google Philippines has not yet announced local pricing, availability, or pre-order details for the Google Home Speaker. LG Philippines invited us to attend LG InnoFest 2026, together with other journalists and dealers from across the Asia Pacific region, to get a look at the current and upcoming AI powered appliances that will soon land on store shelves and in our homes. One of the key selling points LG pushed, compared to traditional non AI appliances, is that AI saves time and effort, or as LG frames it, the Zero Labor Home, where appliances coordinate automatically instead of forcing us to press endless buttons and adjust every setting manually. At LG InnoFest 2026, we saw LG’s AI powered HVAC and energy management tools in action, such as the ThinQ based kW Manager, which I also use in our own home. Read more in our articles including "Google unveils new Home Speaker powered by Gemini" and "LG InnoFest 2026: Are AI Home Appliances Really Worth It?".