Google created an smart lamp with integrated Google Assistant, but it's not for consumers and is unlikely to ever become a smart home product.
Google designer Ben Gold last week tweeted about the "dLight," a simple white lamp with circular base, slim poll, and pill-shaped swivel beacon on top.
"Working at a giant tech company is weird and cool," Gold wrote. "I just got a lamp that was designed and engineered in house, not available to anyone besides employees. It's a whole ass product that will likely never be on sale to the public." In a follow-up tweet, he confirmed the lamp's title (a play on "the light," or perhaps even "delight").
dLight is designed to enhance work-from-home setups and provide "optimum lighting for video calls," 9to5Google reported. Though controllable via Google Assistant voice commands, it does not appear to have an embedded microphone; a USB-C port allows for easy device charging, and over-the-air (OTA) firmware updates suggest more features to come.
The smart lamp, despite its super exclusive availability, quickly captured the internet's attention, prompting Gold to tweet only hours after sharing an image of his new light, "Oh wow, I didn't anticipate people would get so worked up over a f***ing lamp." Especially one intended only for Google employees (who can order it from the company's internal store).
You don't need to become a Googler to get your hands on a smart lamp. There are a number of commercial options, including the Philips Hue Iris and Amazon Echo Glow. Or, if you're just looking to brighten up an existing lamp, check out PCMag's roundup of The Best Smart Light Bulbs.