Google Home can connect to your home Wi-Fi network and play music, answer questions, provide weather and traffic reports, show sports scores and control smart devices reliably – thanks to far-field voice recognition technology that ensures it hears you properly.
An integrated calendar makes it easy to set reminders and establish routines that turn on lights or play your podcast of choice when you’re away.
Connectivity
Google Home max white stands out with its connectivity options, supporting third-party devices like Nest thermostats, Philips Hue lightbulbs and Samsung’s SmartThings platform. Furthermore, it works seamlessly with apps like Spotify and Google Play Music (with a monthly subscription required), accessing information from your phone calendar as well as giving an overview of your day in the morning and setting alarms and timers for you.
But these features will only work properly if your speaker is connected to the internet and your smartphone is nearby. Luckily, connecting or reconnecting it is usually straightforward.
Step one is to open the Google Assistant app on your smartphone and tap “Set up device”. Step two will require visiting Wi-Fi settings on your phone or tablet and connecting to the customized Google Home hotspot listed as part of its network list (typically represented by four digits), this should take just a couple minutes.
Sound
Google Home is a great-sounding device that delivers on many of its promises. Similar to Amazon Echo, but with additional voice-recognition abilities that enable it to control smart devices such as thermostats and cameras.
Radio or podcast listeners typically experience clear dialogue and identifiable voices when listening to recordings of Gregory Porter singing All Rise; his powerful baritone stands out loud and clear while drums, cymbals, and hi-hats all showcase good articulation.
The top of the speaker features three invisibly divided touch-sensitive panels that allow for pause/cancel/volume control of music playback as well as volume level changes. Four LED indicators illuminate to indicate Google Assistant activation or Bluetooth pairing mode activation/pairing status/other events.
Apps
Google Home offers more digital capabilities than just shopping integration compared to Alexa, including managing smart home devices, checking calendar and task lists, registering media subscriptions, and managing smart home devices through the Google Home app.
Apps allow you to easily name and manage Google Home devices. There are settings and results management features within them as well (Google Assistant will read out your Gmail, YouTube playlists, recipes etc).
Back in April, Google unveiled Voice Match: an innovative feature designed to let the Google Home recognize your individual voice so it understands who or what you’re asking it for. For instance, when saying, “OK Google, call mom,” for example, the device would understand you mean your mother instead of someone else’s mother if this option is enabled for multiple users within your household and also pair multiple Google Home speakers for simultaneous playback of music.
Design
Google Home’s $129 price point competes directly with Amazon Echo in terms of functionality. But its teardrop-shaped body creates an inviting and approachable appearance; something Google also achieved with the Nest Audio lineup.
Google championing fabric as sustainable material was an eye-opener to us; unlike most smart speakers that feature hard plastic. There were concerns over whether its fabric covering would collect dust or become cat scratching post; we have found otherwise.
Long presses on the top pause or resume music playback, while tapping and sliding your finger across its surface to adjust volume. Though less precise than Echo controls, this simple system makes volume adjustment easy and enjoyable. Additional taps activate various assistant functions while its Mute button mutes all microphones if necessary. Google Home connects seamlessly with smart home devices as well as Chromecast-enabled televisions.
