The next product of the Google Home lineup, the Google Home Max, offers serious sound with its smart features. The speaker is the larger version of the previously released Google Home and Google Home Mini. Released December 11, 2017, the smart speaker is already becoming a popular gift for the holidays. This article will detail what the Google Home Max is and how it compares to other smart speakers.
What Is Google Home Max
The Google Home Max is the third product released from Google that acts as a smart home speaker. The speaker is hefty, weighing in at 12 pounds, with dimensions of 13.5 by 7.5 by 6 inches. Because the device is so large, it can pack serious sound. The device comes with two tweeters and two 4.5 inch woofers, and six microphones allow a user’s voice to be heard from anywhere in a room. The device can sit horizontally or vertically, and actually undergoes minor changes in sound and touchpad functions depending on the orientation. Although other Google Home devices traditionally required users to have Chromecast to play music on the device, the Google Home Max comes with an auxiliary port, Bluetooth, and Wifi. Users can now play music from partners like Pandora or Spotify as well as plug in their record player. The device also comes with the helpful functionality of Google Assistant.
Google Assistant
Google’s virtual personal assistant can be found helping users on Google or Android smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, and on the Google Home devices. Many reviewers argue that Google Assistant outperforms similar virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa. Users can say “Okay Google” to their Google Home Max to perk its “ears” before giving a command like “Play Country music on Spotify.” The assistant can do a range of things like check the stock market, answer basic questions, translate phrases, and give step-by-step instructions to a recipe. The Google Home Max can even control smart home devices like a thermostats, lights, fans, or any other device plugged into a smart home plug.
Google Home Max versus Sonos Play:5
The functionality of the Google Home Max is similar to the Google Home and Google Home Mini. The largest difference is the sound quality and the ability to plug in external devices. The device that is most comparable to the size and sound quality of the Google Home Max is the Sonos Play:5. The two devices are similar overall with some distinct differences. The Sonos is 14 pounds and is roughly 14.5 by 8 by 6 inches (slightly larger than the Max). In the device, three midwoofers can be found with three tweeters. Although there are very few reviewers that have directly compared the two devices, some say that the Google Home Max is very bass heavy.
The Play:5 also utilizes wireless only, rather than Bluetooth so sound is uninterrupted, although there have been complaints regarding this. Bass and treble can be manually adjusted, whereas the Google Home claims to adjust these automatically depending on the room the device is in. The device can also connect to any Amazon Echo speakers to sync music preferences and smart home commands.
Google Home Max Price
An important consideration consumers will take into account is price. There are numerous smart home speakers on the market, including Amazon Echo, Sonos Play, Apple HomePod, and Google Home. The cheapest options are the Google Home Mini ($29) and the Amazon Echo Dot ($30). These devices are often purchased with the intention of connecting them to large speaker systems, rather than using the devices as speakers themselves. Mid-range options include the Amazon Echo ($80) and Google Home ($79). The most expensive options are the large smart home speakers like the Sonos Play:5 ($499) and the Google Home Max ($400). Of course, these are designed to act as the primary speaker rather than hooking up the device to existing speakers. Depending on a consumer’s existing setup and speaker needs, there are many options to choose from to achieve a quality sound.