You can already use Google Assistant to play Netflix, but it becomes a hassle if you have more than one Netflix profile. You probably don't want to muck up a partner's recommendations just because you couldn't bother to reach for the remote. Well, you won't have to risk it from now on: Google has revealed that Assistant can now match your voice to a specific Netflix profile. You don't have to do more than link the profile in the Google Home app's video settings. So long as you use voice matching in the first place, this should make hands-free Netflix control reatively painless in a busy household.

SAN FRANCISCO – After missing the critical holiday shopping season, Apple Inc. has jumped into the voice speaker wars with the HomePod smart speaker, a device that will use its Siri voice assistant and compete against offerings from Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google. Apple said on Tuesday it will start taking online orders for its HomePod smart speaker on Friday in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, just over a month later than initially planned. The $349 voice-controlled speaker, introduced in June and originally scheduled for a December release, can make music suggestions and adjust home temperatures. The speaker also will be able to send messages and play news updates from National Public Radio and CNN, Apple said in a release. Analysts have debated the impact of the shipping delay on the HomePod's eventual success.

Apple's HomePod smart speaker finally has a launch date. After missing its original December debut, Apple announced Tuesday that the HomePod will begin shipping on Feb. 9, with preorders beginning this Friday. That means Apple will finally join one of the most popular areas of consumer technology today. It also means that we'll finally find out how Apple fares against incumbents, such as Amazon and Google, who have had smart speakers available more than a year (and more than three years, in the Echo's case). Apple is late to the game and will face some significant challenges ahead.

Investment in artificial intelligence grew an estimated 300 percent in 2017, as adoption of AI-powered assistants like Alexa and Siri continued to skyrocket -- and, unsurprisingly, the trend was very much in evidence at this years' CES. As customers have come to expect the "personal assistant" level of service from a diversity of devices, "the bar is [just] being continually raised for consumer expectations in the level of intuitive service and response that is available to them," said Devon MacDonald, Chief Strategy Officer, Mindshare Canada. "People are always looking for things that are faster, easier, safer, and just more frictionless." Following CES, MacDonald talked to GeoMarketing about approaching AI from a'human first' perspective -- and how AR integrations are finally a tangible reality for brands. GeoMarketing: At Mindshare, you've spent a lot of time thinking about artificial intelligence.

It's long been rumored that Apple may be planning to kill off the MacBook Air, but it looks like the laptop's death may be more imminent than we thought. Apple could soon release a brand new, 13-inch laptop to replace the aging MacBook Air, according to Digitimes. Taiwanese touch screen supplier General Interface Solution is expected to receive a big order from Apple for LCD displays. Apple may use the displays to introduce a totally new 13-inch MacBook toward the end of 2018, Digitimes noted. Now that Apple's MacBook Air is ten years old, the iPhone maker may be preparing to kill off the 13-inch model entirely.

Like it or not, the machines are claiming new territory. And by "machines" I mean artificial intelligence (AI). Our business and personal lives are touched by AI every day. That friendly lady who took your information and looked up your account when you called your insurance company? That helpful service on Netflix that recommends new shows to watch?

Apple on Tuesday announced a Feb 9. release date for its smart speaker called the HomePod -- allowing the company that first popularized virtual assistants through its smartphones to finally enter the market for virtual assistants in the home. The looming question for the company, though, is whether it is too late. Apple is releasing its smart speaker nearly three years after the Amazon Echo and after the Google Home, which launched in 2016. Apple also originally scheduled the HomePod to hit the market in December 2017 before the critical holiday shopping season. But the device was delayed until early 2018, past the time for avid shopping and gift giving.

Apple is finally ready to launch its attempt to compete with the internet-connected speakers made by Amazon and Google with the release of its long-awaited HomePod. Pre-orders for the HomePod will begin Friday in the U.S, U.K. and Australia, two weeks before the speaker goes on sale in stores for $349. Apple had intended to release the HomePod last month during the holiday shopping season, but delayed its debut to refine the product. Both Amazon's Echo and Google's Home speakers have been expanding their reach into people's homes since Apple announced the HomePod last June. Amazon and Google also are selling their speakers for substantially less, with streamlined versions of their devices available for below $50.

Siri's news reading feature is no longer limited to the beta testing crowd. Apple has officially released iOS 11.2.5, and the centerpiece is the ability to ask Siri for the latest happenings. If you're in the US, UK or Australia, you can get a briefing from a slew of local sources, such as NPR and the Washington Post in the states or the BBC and Sky News in the UK. And it doesn't have to be general news, either -- you can ask for business, music or sports news as well. Not surprisingly, 11.2.5 is also key to unlocking support for the HomePod speaker.

Apple is set to release the HomePod soon, which will have to compete with other rival speaker devices already on the market. With the release of the HomePod, customers will have to choose between the $349 device or other much cheaper options, like the Echo device family and Google Home. Here's how the devices compare. The second-generation Echo is powered by Alexa and is compatible with the Alexa app on iOS and Android devices. The device supports messaging and voice calling.