Google’s Wonderful and Wacky CES 2019

Google at CES 2019 was flashy, fun, and focused. “Hey Google” could be heard anywhere within their booth as they extensively showcased the application of their Google Assistant and the Google Home environment. Google demonstrated just how versatile their tech could be and their wonderful and whimsical presentation illustrated how family friendly their Google Home system was.

Multiple activities within the booth didn’t take themselves seriously; Google chose to be lighthearted and humorous in the way they presented their tech. One exhibit had us take a tour around a typical house: it started in the bedroom with a simple “good morning” that trigged the lights in the room to turn on. This was followed by a demonstration of the natural language processing helpful if you want to do two tasks at once (“Hey Google, set an alarm and turn on the TV”) and Google Assistant’s ability to act as an interpreter for 27 different languages.

A second exhibit was a tram ride musical. Taking us on an adventure in the day of a life, we saw how Google Assistant could help plan a birthday while managing other tasks. Filled with animatronics, this felt like a ride at Disneyland rather than a tech booth at CES.

While Google looks to be a big force in the technology landscape in the coming year, they took time at CES 2019 to revel in their own product, to truly enjoy the ways Google Assistant and the Google Home ecosystem can bring joy to people’s lives.

Other Notes:

• Google had an activation event separate from their booth. People could line up and win prizes from a large machine reminiscent of gumball machines. The line, however, was 2 hours long at times.
• Anyone who rode their tram would get a code for a free Google Home Hub. Not a bad way to introduce CES participants to their Google Home ecosystem.
• The “Hey Google” beanies were a hit, but only staff members could get them.