11-23-2023 12:23 AM
Hey team, it's been a question for a long while as to whether meaningful stuff is actually happing with Home and Assistant as it seems to have stagnated a fair bit in the last couple of years. Talks of it being slowly cancelled and seeing things like staff layoffs both at Google and Amazon are just adding fuel to this.
How about something simple to get the profitability of these divisions going? The ability to add customer voice packs. Spend a little coin and get some celebs to do voice packs and then sell them for a nominal fee per pack. People will eat it up. Want more? Well how about making some features like custom voices packs and maybe a custom activation phrase part of a premium service? Maybe add it to the Google One subscription? Might encourage people to sub up...just don't be greedy about it and you'll make plenty.
Given this age, I think it's pretty poor form that we can't even do something as simple as make a customer activation phrase. It's kind dumb that I have to say "ok Google" or "Hey Google" every time I want something to happen. Seriously, if you make it useful and fun to use, people will want it, will use it and if you make it reasonably priced they will pay for it. Value for money means your customers win and so will you in the longer term. Stop going fo the short term cash grab and start about long term profit and sticky customers.