The original Google Pixel and Pixel XL may have been celebrated, but it wasn't because of their design. Unfortunately for many, their successors look very similar. The Pixel 2 features very prominent bezels, making it look clunky and somewhat outdated compared to many of 2017's flagships. The Pixel XL 2 looks more modern but still has a fairly prominent "forehead" and "chin", unlike the "edge-to-edge" Samsung Galaxy S8, Note 8 and iPhone X. This means the new Pixels aren't anywhere near as attractive as some of the handsets they're competing directly with.

Amazon has been on quite an expansion push with its smart home speaker line recently, but now it's clear that they're increasing more than just the number of Echo devices on the market. The company announced today that Echo and Alexa are now available in India by invitation only, and they'll expand to Japan later this year. Devices will start shipping in India this month. According to Tom Taylor, the SVP of Amazon Alexa, the company will also open the Alexa Skills Kit and Alexa Voice Service in order to allow developers to create customized software for Indian and Japanese customers. Hardware makers will also have the freedom to build devices that can work with Alexa.

If you feel the regular Google Home is overkill when you just want to ask about the weather, you're in luck: As rumored, Google has introduced the cut-down Home Mini. The puck-sized, fabric-covered device drops music-grade speakers in favor of a narrow focus on Google Assistant voice commands (including a Find My Phone feature) and, as you might imagine, a lower price to match. Pre-orders start now, and it ships Oct. 19th to all seven countries where Home sells today. Is it a perfect replacement for Amazon's tiny speaker? Not quite: You can't plug in a wired set of speakers, so you'll have to stream to a Chromecast-enabled speaker (whether through an adapter or built-in) if you want music.

Today's Google event is all about, well, Google hardware, but that doesn't mean Nest isn't getting some love too. On stage the company just announced that its Google Home speaker (and now, Google Home Mini) will soon have deeper, more useful integrations with Nest hardware. So if you have a Nest camera set up, you can ask Home to show the live feed on your TV via Chromecast. You can also change the temperature on your Nest thermostat with conversational terms like "warmer" and set up your Nest Hello doorbell so it calls Home, like a remote intercom. Just say: "Ok Google, show me the entryway."

Kids don't quite have the diction that adults to, which can make it hard even for us humans to understand them. Google knows this and has tweaked Assistant and Home to better pick up what your munchkins are laying down. The search juggernaut has also partnered with a number of providers for kid-specific things like stories from Disney and Sports Illustrated for Kids among others, and simple games (like musical chairs, for instance). The just announced Family Link will let you setup Google accounts for your under-13 youngsters, too. The updates will be rolling out later this month.

After months filled with teases, rumors and speculation, Sonos has finally introduced its first speaker with built-in support for voice commands. Today, at an event in New York City, the company unveiled the Sonos One, a device billed as "The Smart Speaker for Music Lovers." As expected, the main attraction here are the voice features, which at launch will be powered by Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant. We say "at launch" because Sonos CEO, Patrick Spence, ended the presentation with the news that the One will also work with Google Assistant in 2018. You'll notice right away that the new speaker, which arrives October 24th for $199, looks nearly identical to the Play:1.

Active Edge feature - Start Google Assistant by squeezing sides of the phone (Hi HTC!), works even when the phone is in a case. Now playing feature - Music identified with machine learning. "Google Assistant works with over 1,000 smart home products from over 100 brands." Google Home compatible with find my phone with Android even when the device is silent (and iPhone, with a phone call). "An assistant can only be useful if it knows who you are." "Made by Google products represent the ultimate Google experience" Google Home can pick up voices in a noisy room, Google Wi-Fi picks up connections as people move devices through rooms, Pixel revolutionized end to end photo experience for users.

Sonos has finally announced its own smart speaker that's powered by Amazon's Alexa digital assistant. Called the Sonos One, the upcoming smart speaker will arrive on Oct. 24 for $199. The Sonos One will work with different voice assistants, but at launch it will be powered by Alexa, the same digital assistant that's on Amazon's Echo speakers. The company says that its smart speaker will also work with Google Assistant in 2018, making the Sonos One the very first smart speaker that support multiple voice services. "We live in a golden age of streaming entertainment," Sonos CEO Patrick Spence said.

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A new feature allows users to ask Amazon's voice assistant Alexa to play "baby making jazz music." The Sonos One wireless speaker, priced at $199, will be available Oct. 24. It will support multiple voice services, launching with Amazon Alexa, but will add Siri using AirPlay 2, and Google Assistant, in 2018. High fidelity wireless speaker maker Sonos wants to make it easier for you to bring voice control to your home sound system. The Santa Barbara, Calif.-based company Wednesday announced an immediately available update to its Sonos app allowing Amazon devices such as the Echo and Dot speakers to control their current Sonos speakers and systems with Amazon's digital assistant Alexa.