The Information said Wednesday that Google plans to add new mesh Wi-Fi networking features to Google Home, its smart Amazon Echo competitor, which would allow the product boost Wi-Fi signals around the home.
The function would work similarly to Google Wifi, a stand-alone mesh networking package that replaces a single router and instead places access points that communicate with one another around the house and provides improved connectivity.
Google says a single Google Wifi access point can cover a 1,500 square foot house, but that a package of three, which all work together as a seamless Wi-Fi network, can cover up to 4,500 square feet.
If Alphabet does indeed build this sort of mesh networking technology into its Google Home product, then users could extend the range of their Wi-Fi networks without needing to buy additional Google Wifi access points. Google Wifi pucks retail for $129 each, the same price as a Google Home base station.
The move could give Google Home an edge over the Amazon Echo, which doesn't offer the ability to extend Wi-Fi networks. The Information points to Amazon's investment in a Wi-Fi company named Luma as evidence that Amazon may be considering a similar approach, however.
A Google spokesperson declined to comment.
Read the full report on The Information.