Google Home reportedly has Chromecast roots
This shiny new device may have recognizable hardware on the inside.
Google Home promises a minor revolution as far as around-the-home voice assistants go, but its hardware roots may be more than a little familiar. The Information's source understands that Home ultimately boils down to a Chromecast with a microphone, a speaker and a nice case -- it reportedly has the same processor and WiFi chipset. The simple Linux-based operating system is also supposed to be similar (minus the voice command part, of course), although the same insider claims that a future Home might run on Android.
We've asked Google if it can confirm the report. However, using the Chromecast as a starting point makes sense. Google Assistant's voice processing happens primarily in the cloud, so Home doesn't need much in the way of local computing power -- just enough to play music and listen for commands. It's also reasonable to presume that Google wants to keep costs down, and using low-cost innards is bound to help on that front.
