The artificial intelligence assistant Google Home is scheduled to debut in the U.K. on April 6, according to Google's blog post Tuesday. The hands-free assistant and speaker, similar to its rival Amazon Echo, was launched last year in the U.S. in an attempt to make artificial intelligence readily available in homes. Google's new product, Google Wifi, would be released simultaneously, as well. The U.K. can look forward to new features not yet released elsewhere. "We know the U.K. has been patiently waiting for Google Home to arrive and we've been working with our favorite partners to give you the best possible experience," director of Product Partnerships and Planning at Google, Suveer Kothari said in the blog post.

Google announced today that even more smart home devices would now be compatible with Assistant. The Assistant, accessible from the Google Home hub and Android phones, is integral to Google's expansion into the Internet of Things: Today, we're introducing new home automation integrations--in addition to the ones that already exist--that work with the Google Assistant. So you can now connect your Google Assistant to Best Buy Insignia, LIFX, TP-Link and Wink. TNW Conference won best European Event 2016 for our festival vibe. See what's in store for 2017.

Tinder has always lived on your phone. The dating app, which seduced tens of millions of users with its delightfully simple right-swipe, didn't just have a mobile experience, it was a mobile experience. That changes today, with the release of a browser-based applet the company calls Tinder Online. When it arrives in the US later this year (the company is now testing it in countries like Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Indonesia, where users with weak cellular connections will finally be able to use Tinder from a desktop), Tinder Online will look a lot like the mobile version. But the company's designers made some changes to the interaction, starting with the swipe.

Tinder is joining the earliest electronic dating services and adding support for web. The app is designed to virtually introduce users to others in a set radius around them via photos and a short biography. Based on that limited information users swipe right if they're intrigued or left if they're not. If both users swipe right, they're matched and can begin a conversation. Tinder originated as an app, but soon it will be available in web browsers on any device.

Whether you're a company implementing or thinking of implementing a chatbot/VA strategy, or an industry veteran, you can't miss this unique event showcasing the experiences of those who've been-there-and-done-that. You'll hear directly from Nationwide Financial, Airbnb, USAA, Anheuser-Busch, Nissan and more! Gain insight into their build, partner or buy decisions, their real-life implementation stories, using bots/VAs to generate customer insights, and the unexpected hurdles they had to overcome. Unlike other bot/VA events, you won't hear speakers "preaching to the choir." You'll hear many unique perspectives from end-users and industry veterans alike.

Vivint Sky and Wink Hub owners who want to use voice commands to control their lighting, thermostats, and other subsystems will soon no longer be limited to deploying Amazon Echos--both companies announced today that their systems will soon be compatible with Google Assistant, too. Both companies already work with Amazon's voice assistant, Alexa, but neither wants to be limited to a single platform. "Obviously there's more than one option for homeowners who want to have voice services in the house," said Vivint Smart Home Chief Technology Office Jeremy Warren. "We want to make sure we're providing a great user experience for our customers regardless of which platform they adopt." Google announced 11 other new partnerships as well, ranging from Logitech Harmony, to August smart locks, to the Anova sous-vide cooker.

Samsung's Unpacked 2017 event in New York City is set to kick off tomorrow and it's no mystery at this point that the big unveil will be Samsung's "next Galaxy," the Galaxy S8 and potentially the Galaxy S8 Plus. So much has leaked about the device(s) that much may be already known about Samsung's next flagship Android handset that is poised to take on the iPhone for smartphone domination. We've heard about display sizes, with the Galaxy S8 standard device measuring in at 5.7-inches (or maybe 5.8) and the Galaxy S8 offering gargantuan phablet proportions at 6.2-inches. However, those displays also come with very minimal bezel, as Samsung reportedly is going to take a page from Dell with something called an "Infinity Display" that will surely keep the two new Galaxy's footprints down significantly, similar to what LG delivered with the wonderfully-designed G6. Regardless, even with all these design updates -- and Samsung's new Bixby AI virtual assistant that claims to learn the human, rather than requiring the human to learn it – there's still one more unconfirmed major advancement I expect with Samsung's new pocket super computers and it lies under the hood.

Apple is expected to revamp Siri with contextual learning abilities and deep integration with iMessage and iCloud in its upcoming iOS 11 update, and will reportedly boost the voice assistant with the Apple TV and Apple Watch, according to Israeli site The Verifier. Siri is rumored to get a boost in its level of artificial intelligence, sources from the development teams based in Israel told the site. The digital assistant will reportedly be able to carry out current voice commands and it will also be able to learn a user's usage habits and offer different action options based on the context of content, similar to Samsung's Bixby, the report said. Siri is rumored to become an "integral part" of iMessage with the iOS 11 update. For example, Siri would be able to give restaurant recommendations, make a reservation or book an Uber "directly from the screen messages in an intuitive way," The Verifier said.

In the quest to smart-up your analog home, interactive door locks present a distinct conundrum: If things go screwy, you might not be able to get into your home. August Home's Smart Lock lets you lend out virtual passes for temporary guests but doesn't fully replace your existing deadbolt, meaning your metal key still opens your door the old fashioned way. While the product has been around since 2014, the company started integrating voice control last year, integrating Apple's Homekit last May and Amazon's Alexa support a month later. Users can lock their doors through the Google Home app and check its status, but won't be able to unlock it remotely just yet. In a press release, August Home said they were working with to find a "safe and secure way" to enable that functionality, which should come later this year (it took them eight months to add an "unlock" command to Alexa).

A number of connected home devices already work with Google's smart speaker and today a few more are being added to the fold. Logitech's Harmony line and Wink's lighting gear and thermostats can now be controlled with voice commands from Google Home. "Ok Google, ask Harmony to..." can control your connected speakers, fire up a specific app on Roku, skip forward/backward on content and more for devices that work with Logitech's smart home platform. You can also use you voice to trigger Harmony's "Good Morning" activity that does things like set Hue lights to a warm color, adjust your thermostat and begin playing music at the same time. Logitech says its Harmony Elite, Companion and Hub smart home tech can be used with up to 270,000 devices.