Microsoft Windows 10 Home Hub Set To Take On Amazon Echo And Google Home In Software
Smart home technology is on the rise and everyone is looking to get in on the action. That includes big players such as Amazon and Google, and pretty soon you can count Microsoft among the contenders as well. However, Microsoft's solution won't be a hardware product. Instead it has been working on a software solution called Home Hub since before the Anniversary Update for Windows 10 arrived.
The Anniversary Update actually includes some features designed to work with Home Hub, such as being ability to summon Cortana from the lock screen. Even more features that link Home Hub's functionality with connected Windows 10 PCs will be included in the forthcoming Creators Update, though it's the next two major updates after that in which Home Hub will roll out in full force.
So what is Home Hub? That's a little tough to answer because right now, it isn't anything. However, this is viewed as a really big project for Microsoft, one that will compete with and go beyond the functionality of Amazon Echo and Google Home. Even though Microsoft's solution is just the software, it will be capable of what the competition can do, plus a whole lot more. On top of that, it will benefit from having a display since Home Hub is being designed for Windows 10 PCs.
With Home Hub and all of its features installed, a Windows 10 PC becomes the central command station for a home. It will bring connected devices into the Windows 10 fold. Home Hub will also put a big focus on making Windows 10 devices more helpful for multiple people who share devices.
As it stands now, a shared PC in the home consists of individual accounts for different users, plus a guest account for when the in-laws visit. Microsoft feels it's an outdated approach to sharing a PC, and Home Hub will address that.
Don't mistake that to mean Home Hub is the end of individual accounts. Those will still exist, though there will also be a family account that's always logged into. This will show everything that is meant for the entire family, such as shared calendar appointments. It can also tap into Windows Hello to verify a user's identity and show calendar results and other data specific to that user.
Home Hub is ambitious project that won't show up as envisioned for quite some time, but barring a cancellation of the project, it will eventually play an integral role in the Windows 10 experience.
The Anniversary Update actually includes some features designed to work with Home Hub, such as being ability to summon Cortana from the lock screen. Even more features that link Home Hub's functionality with connected Windows 10 PCs will be included in the forthcoming Creators Update, though it's the next two major updates after that in which Home Hub will roll out in full force.
So what is Home Hub? That's a little tough to answer because right now, it isn't anything. However, this is viewed as a really big project for Microsoft, one that will compete with and go beyond the functionality of Amazon Echo and Google Home. Even though Microsoft's solution is just the software, it will be capable of what the competition can do, plus a whole lot more. On top of that, it will benefit from having a display since Home Hub is being designed for Windows 10 PCs.
With Home Hub and all of its features installed, a Windows 10 PC becomes the central command station for a home. It will bring connected devices into the Windows 10 fold. Home Hub will also put a big focus on making Windows 10 devices more helpful for multiple people who share devices.
As it stands now, a shared PC in the home consists of individual accounts for different users, plus a guest account for when the in-laws visit. Microsoft feels it's an outdated approach to sharing a PC, and Home Hub will address that.
Don't mistake that to mean Home Hub is the end of individual accounts. Those will still exist, though there will also be a family account that's always logged into. This will show everything that is meant for the entire family, such as shared calendar appointments. It can also tap into Windows Hello to verify a user's identity and show calendar results and other data specific to that user.
Home Hub is ambitious project that won't show up as envisioned for quite some time, but barring a cancellation of the project, it will eventually play an integral role in the Windows 10 experience.