Would You Buy a $400 Smart Speaker from Google? - Bloomberg

I'm guessing "Manhattan" may lack an Amazon Prime Video app -- see Amazon and Google are fighting, and that means consumers lose (Washington Post) for some leading indicators

"Isabelle Olsson, the project’s lead hardware designer, said Google went through “hundreds and hundreds” of prototypes, but declined to describe nixed designs in case they show up in future devices. One key challenge: picking the yarn that covers the front of the speaker. Looking for fabric that looked good and wouldn’t impede the sound, the team rummaged through 300 choices before selecting the material at an Austrian mill.

Google declined to say whether it plans to expand the Home lineup. But two people familiar with the matter said the company is working on a touchscreen version, akin to Amazon’s Echo Show. (TechCrunch previously reported the news.) The device is codenamed “Manhattan” and will go on sale as early as next year. In the meantime, the search giant will have to overcome a history of product flops and take on Amazon, Apple and Sonos."

Would You Buy a $400 Smart Speaker from Google? - Bloomberg