At CES 2017, NVIDIA debuted the new SHIELD TV, but also the Spot. Which was basically a Google Home you could plug into your wall. That means it had the Google Assistant baked in, which was a great idea, and it was really the first non-Google device to be announced with the Google Assistant. The only thing is, it never actually launched. A year later, we are still left wondering where it is. Well, at CES, we spoke with NVIDIA, and we're informed that the company is still working hard on the Spot with Google and do expect to release it in the future. Though, there was no specific date given.

NVIDIA and Google are working together on the Spot and are focusing on polishing it up, so that the user experience is a great one. NVIDIA did mention to us that the main delay in the Spot was the fact that Google Assistant made its way over to the NVIDIA SHIELD TV, so the two teams had then decided to work on polishing the experience on the big screen before moving over to the Spot. So it's not available yet, but they do expect it to come in the near future.

Speaking of Google Assistant on the NVIDIA SHIELD TV, the company has been demoing a number of new features for the SHIELD TV, which mostly involve SmartThings. Allowing you to control different things from the remote on your SHIELD TV, which does have a microphone for Google Assistant. But also the new "routines" feature. It works with the SHIELD TV as well, allowing you to say something like "Good Morning" to the Assistant, and it can automatically start your day for you by turning on the lights, opening the blinds and even getting your coffee ready, if you have a compatible coffee maker.


So the NVIDIA Spot isn't coming just yet, and we really still have no idea when it is coming, but it should be coming soon. At least that is what NVIDIA wants us to believe. It may eventually launch under a different name, depending on how long it is before it is available for purchase. But it should still be a pretty interesting device, especially for those that are big Google Assistant and NVIDIA SHIELD TV users.