Google Home Max REVIEW: Smart speaker has a high price but loudly blows Mini out the water Earlier this month at Google's Made by Google event, the company made a surprise announcement that few saw coming. The team unveiled a brand-new Google Home device but unlike the Google Home Mini or Google Home, the new device was geared more towards audiophiles than anyone wanting a smartspeaker in their home.
Google Home Max was that device and the best of a speaker supposedly packs one hell of a punch. Whilst it does still contain the same smart tech thats made the smaller counterparts popular, its clearly intended as a speaker first and foremost.
And apparently, its 20-times louder than your standard Google Home, which is no doubt good news for anyone who likes a party. Annoyingly, there's no word on when Google will announce a UK release date for the Google Home Max, thats despite the unit being on sale in the US right now.
Google price the speaker at $399 - which also includes a 12-month ad-free subscription to YouTube Music - so you can probably expect it to cost somewhere between £350 – £400 when it does come to the UK. In fact, with the Apple Home Pod coming next year, it could be that Google reduce the price further to remain competitive.
For now, heres several reviews from some of the big American tech sites to give you a flavour of what people think of this luxurious looking smart speaker. The Verge - Overall, the Home Max is a great sounding, fully integrated smart speaker if volume and audio quality are your priority.
It's too expensive, too big, and too loud to fit in most rooms, so it's best suited for a living room or larger space. It's the best option for subscribers of Google Play Music or YouTube Music, neither of which are supported by Amazon's Alexa platform. However, if sound quality is your ultimate priority and you're not married to Google's music services, you'll probably be happier with a Sonos Play:5.
It's more expensive and doesn't have the integrated smarts, but the Sonos app supports more audio sources and just sounds better than the Home Max. The Sonos integration with Alexa through an Echo device also offers voice control for Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Prime Music, and others. And of course, we're still waiting for Apple to release its delayed HomePod, which is promised to have incredible sound quality and similar audio tuning capabilities to the Home Max. But the HomePod will likely only support Apple Music natively, and will rely on AirPlay and other, less convenient methods to play music from other services. The war for your living room is just heating up, and it's going to get a lot more interesting, and loud, before it's over. If you want a great-sounding speaker and youre already all-in on Assistant - whether you run Android, you command a small battalion of Google Homes, or you take the extra steps to talk to Google on an iPhone - then the Google Home Max is a worthy upgrade for your home audio situation.
The utility and sound quality of the Max is absolutely worth the $400 when matched with the almost scary usefulness of the Assistant. But if youre indebted to another cloud-based domestique, look elsewhere. As good as the Max sounds, its really only truly useful if you and the Assistant are besties. If youre just looking for an Alexa alternative, maybe consider one of the cheaper Home speakers. Better yet, buy the Sonos One speaker. It has Alexa now, but its getting Google Assistant in just a few months. Actually, the Sonos One is only half the price of the Max. Go ahead and get two.
Tech Crunch - That $399 price tag will be pretty hard for many to stomach, especially as more and more third parties come out with their own smart Assistant speakers. It says a lot that it's $50 more than Apple's premium speaker. Though the Home Max has some decided advantages over the HomePod, not the least of which is that it's actually on the market right now. Apple's offering, meanwhile, is slated for some time early next year. On the whole, it's a solid offering. Google Assistant is tough to beat and the hardware mostly stands on its own.
It's not the most stellar piece of audio equipment at its price point, but Google's engineered something that works right out of the box, while Smart Sound means you won't have to do any EQ fiddling in the off-chance that you end up moving it from its current position.
If you want to further customize it, that's possible, too. The Google Assistant app is much more robust than Alexa. But plug-and-play capabilities will likely appeal to many users simply looking for a nice-sounding system that also can help get them ready for work in the morning.
Early verdict: With the Max, theres now a Google Home suited for all sorts of living quarters – from the bedroom, the kitchen and the garage. This one just so happens to be about rocking louder and being smarter than the others. Coming in at $399, this isnt as easy to plunk down on as the other Home models – especially when stacked up against the $49 Google Home Mini – but doing so means treating yourself to deeper, louder and smarter experience.
Engadget - At $399, the Google Home Max will not sell as well as the standard Home or Home Mini.
But many people listen to music on those devices, and a subset of them certainly would like to combine the smarts of the Google Assistant while also upgrading their home audio setup. The Home Max fits that bill. Its incredibly easy to set up, it can do everything that the other Google Home devices can do and, most important, it sounds excellent.
There are other speakers in this price range that perform better, but the Google Home Max doesnt have any competitors that can match all of its features. Its simply the best-sounding smart speaker available right now. Though the Home Maxs price will be a dealbreaker for some, music fans should definitely take note.
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