Microsoft is one of the many companies without a smart home solution, and that's odd seeing as the technology is there in the form of Cortana, and it's being used publicly for several years. However, it would seem as if Microsoft is ready to compete with a product known as Home Hub.
A new report claims this is exactly what Microsoft is working on, but it won't be something 100 percent similar to Amazon's Alexa, Echo or even Google Home. On the software side, it's similar, but we've come to understand that Home Hub is more software than hardware.
According to a report from Windows Central, Home Hub will be baked into Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile. Furthermore, the service is aimed at families and will feature an upgraded version of the Cortana virtual assistant. Home Hub will also focus much on sharing, similar to what folks expects from a real family.
We understand Home Hub will have a communal calendar, one that is similar to the Calendar app in Windows 10. What sets Home Hub apart from the competition is the fact that it will be on millions of home computers, and instead of just voice interaction, it will also support touch-based interactions as well.
This makes sense because voice interaction is not yet perfect, and the user experience can be more powerful if there's a touchscreen with greater options.
No Need To Build Hardware
With Windows 10 being on millions of computers in homes, there's no need for Microsoft to build hardware for Home Hub. Furthermore, it's possible Microsoft might add Home Hub to its Project Scorpio video game system that will be among the regular Xbox family.
Let's keep in mind that Xbox is designed for the living room more so than a Windows 10 computer, so don't be surprised if Home Hub is added to the console. Not to mention, Windows 10 is the operating system that powers the Xbox One console.
When Will Home Hub Be Released
This we're not sure about, but Windows Central did say bits and pieces of Home Hub will be released across Redstone 2, Redstone 3 and Redstone 4 updates for Windows 10. If such is the case, then it could take by the end of 2017 to 2018 before Home Hub is fully operational as it is meant to be.
Whatever the case may be, Microsoft needs to get in the home assistant market as soon as possible before Amazon, Google and even Apple takes a big chunk of it.
