(Update) Essential Home as Inter-Operable Ambient OS

I like the term Ambient Computing or Ambient OS.   It listens, answers, performs, adapts.  A virtual assistant too.  A more private, more home oriented device?  Centralizing smart home actions.  IFTTT like?   Display too.  Not available or priced yet.

This is the new Ambient OS, Essential’s big bet to control your home
If this, then that, but much bigger ....  by Nilay Patel

It’s a huge morning of news from Andy Rubin’s Essential: a new Android phone with a unique edge-to-edge display, a modular accessory system, a new 360 camera for that system, and a new intelligent speaker with a huge circular display.

But the biggest news of all might be the OS that runs on that speaker. Essential is calling it Ambient OS, and says that the goal is to “activate” your home by understanding the physical layout of your home, its occupants, and the various services and devices available to them. Ambient calls this “activating” your home, and says the Ambient OS is an “API” to all those things in combinations, allowing new kinds of applications to exist on top of them — like flashing your lights when a timer goes off. .... " 

(Update)   Listened to the Andy Rubin's Recode interview on this.  The surprising thing about the Essential Home device, driven by the Ambient OS,  was that it is made to be inter-operable with other assistants, while also having its own.   So it is likely to work with Alexa, which is well known to be open to be integrated in hardware other than Amazon's.  Google Home also likely.  Unclear if Siri or Cortana would participate.    Still no indication of cost or when it might be available ....

Part of this talk was about the Essential Phone, which will be released in 30 days.  It was mentioned that the phone is not required for the Essential Home.  Not clear if some App in some phone is required for set up. ....