So-called connected homes, which feature a network of devices and appliances that communicate with each other and can be remotely monitored and controlled, are becoming increasingly popular and affordable. By 2020, the connected home market could be worth nearly 150 billion globally, according to professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Most Americans surveyed by the company said that within the next decade, using a single remote to control everything in the home will be the norm. "Younger generations view these devices as adding to the livability of the home," said Mark Lesswing, chief technology officer for the National Assn. of Realtors trade group. "They're early adopters now, but in three years, I think this becomes the norm."

Google unveiled its fancy new Pixel phone during a press event on Tuesday. If you haven't seen it yet, it's an impressive handset, with VR capabilities, a fast-charging battery, supposedly the best-ever phone camera, a super-smart AI assistant and Android 7.1. As soon CEO Sundar Pichai announced the Pixel on-stage, Google set about scrubbing listings for the Nexus 5X and 6P from its online store. If you want to buy one of them direct from Google now, you're out of luck. You can however still get one through Google Fi if you don't mind switching carriers.

Sony hasn't said why it named its new wearable "N." Or for "never," as in when you'll be able to buy it. Or maybe "N" just stands for "novel." Because we've simply never seen a wearable that drapes across the back of your neck, blasts music up into your ears, and alerts you that one of your favorite bands is playing the dive bar on the next block. And we may never see it, because it's just a prototype--but one you can help test, too.

Editors' note, October 4, 2016: This piece has been updated after Google's event showcasing new details of the Home. Google announced the Google Home in May. After its October 4th launch event, the company showed the always-listening virtual assistant in detail, complete with lots of highlights of how Google Home can best its primary competition -- the Amazon Echo. Just like with Echo, you can use your voice to tell Home to add an event to your calendar, set the temperature of your thermostat, or stream your favorite song. Google's three part strategy to take Alexa down a peg.

Windows has a feature it doesn't like to talk about. While the OS lets you scrawl notes with a stylus, log in with you face (or secure the Web) via Windows Hello, and even order Cortana to set a reminder, what it's not so eager for you to do, apparently, is use its speech recognition engine to issue commands or take voice dictation. The reason for its silence may go back 10 years, to when Microsoft product manager Shanen Boettcher demonstrated voice dictation inside Windows Vista--and flubbed it. The technology kept a low profile after that, and today, few users know you can dictate a document within Windows. If there were ever a time for Windows to try again, though, it would seem to be now, when advances in computers and artificial intelligence provide a much better foundation for the technology.

And now the original developers behind Siri will be working under Samsung. An intelligent and powerful assistant integrated into Samsung's array of gadgets – Gear S watches, Galaxy smartphones, Smart TVs, and more – would help the South Korean firm against increased competition from the Google Assistant, Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa. The acquisition of Viv Labs would also allow Samsung to reduce its dependence on Google services. Samsung has already launched its own contactless payment options – Samsung Pay – which directly competes with Google's Android Pay solution.

That was how Google's boss, Sundar Pichai, began a presentation on Tuesday, at which his company unveiled a range of new hardware products. He believes that the key attraction of both the new Pixel smartphones and the Google Home smart speaker is the company's expertise in artificial intelligence as demonstrated by the Google Assistant. The search company believes that the vast amount of data it has collected over the years, coupled with its expertise in machine learning, will give it a head start in the coming AI battle. The company hopes that Google Assistant, a conversational chatbot or virtual PA, will soon be a key feature on all sorts of Android devices, not just those it makes itself. If Mr Pichai has his way, we will soon be shouting: "OK Google," to get all sorts of information and services.

Samsung is turning its attention to personal assistants--the company has acquired Viv Labs, a startup founded by Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer, and Chris Brigham, all of whom were part of the original Siri team that Apple bought in 2010. The three departed Apple shortly after the acquisition to start Viv Labs, which recently showed off its AI personal assistant at Disrupt NY. While pricing has not been disclosed, the deal has been confirmed by Kittlaus in a post on Medium. Viv Labs will continue to operate independently from Samsung, but it will share intelligence with the hardware manufacturer with the intent of integrating Viv into products. "Samsung will drastically accelerate our vision," Kittlaus writes.

Google, the company that has done more than any other to democratize mobile computing, argues that we are moving away from a mobile-first world. Indeed, at the company's wide-ranging product reveal on Tuesday in San Francisco, it rarely mentioned Android at all. Yet all the products that Google announced at its event introduced either complemented or reacted to the phone. In addition to the Pixel smartphone itself, the first Daydream VR goggles and controller are aggressively priced at 79 in part due to their reliance on Daydream-ready smartphones such as the Pixel (as opposed to PC-based systems from HTC and Oculus). And the Chromecast Ultra seeks to provide more 4K programming options for TV watchers by leveraging the phone as a content source.

Rumors about the upcoming Galaxy S8 have been swirling for months, but the latest teaser comes from Samsung themselves. The South Korean electronics company just announced the acquisition of Viv, an artificial intelligence platform from the creators of Siri. Google recently debuted its new Pixel phone with Google Assistant. Artificial intelligence that can help users with daily tasks and more. The new iPhone 7 has a smarter more advanced Siri too. Samsung is lacking in this area, but is poised to make a big entrance potentially starting with the Galaxy S8.