Google quietly releases the Google Home Max

Back on the fourth of October, Google quietly announced their biggest smart speaker; the Google Home Max. there was no news about the gadget after that, but now it turns out that it has quietly made its way to stores.

The large smart speaker retails for about $399. Listings for the speaker was found on sites like best Buy and Verizon. They both say they can ship today. Funnily enough, Google’s own store still does not sell the speaker yet and visitors are greeted with a "join waitlist" message.

UPDATE : Google has since updated its site. You can now find the Google Home Max at the Google Store plus Walmart

Information on the Google Home Max

Starting off with the specs, this smart speaker comes with 4.5-inch high-excursion woofers and custom 0.7-inch tweeters. According to the company, this speaker will be about 20x more powerful than its smaller siblings. If true, this is a great feat that would allow the Google Home Max to cater to true audiophiles. There is an auxiliary port as well as many other features.

Sound Quality of the Google Home Max

This smart speaker sounds absolutely brilliant. The sound it emits is deep and clear with no sign of any distortions. For anyone who wants a true audio experience rest assured, this speaker will not disappoint.

Design of the Google Home Max

The design is quite minimalistic. While some might consider it bland, this allows the speaker to blend it to interior décor without seeming out of place. It can be used in two modes; either horizontal or vertical.

Performance of Google Assistant

Google assistant works just as you are accustomed to. You can ask it to change the temperature of your Nest thermostat or ask it questions. Basically put, this is an excellent device for those who are deeply embedded in the Google ecosystem.

Google Home Mini: Quick review

Google has recently taken the covers of the Google Home Mini. It is a smaller companion to the Google Home speaker that was released in 2016. The device has the same features as the older and larger brother but has a vastly lower price tag. It sells for $49 instead of $129. The Mini is set to take on the Amazon Echo Dot.

Design of the Google Home Mini

Shortly put, the overall design somewhat resembles a doughnut. It is very minimalistic and is designed in such a way that it does not bring attention to itself. There are three colour variants. These are light grey, dark grey, and coral red. The top part of the smart speaker is encased in a textured fabric that gives a homely vibe. But, there is a chance that this will collect a lot of dust over time.



The top was supposed to have touch controls that allowed you to change music and pause it. However, after the touch controls started triggering themselves, the company switched it off via an update. There is a physical mute switch behind to mute the microphone.

Audio quality of the Google Home Mini

The Google Home Mini has only one top firing speaker. It does not fill a large room and is not as good as its larger brother which has three speakers. Since it is using Google assistant, the voice responses are much better than Amazon’s Alexa. There are two microphones which do a good job is hearing you from anywhere in the room, even when music is being played.

Integration with smart home gadgets

Google’s product can integrate with smart home products, but it is not as broad as Alexa. You can adjust the temperature on a Nest thermostat, but it cannot control an Ecobee. It can integrate with SmartThings, like Alexa can, but its implementation is not as good or reliable as Amazon’s.