Google Home Max White Smart Speaker Review
The Google Home Max White is a smart speaker worth owning. This speaker is waterproof, connects by Bluetooth and can control by voice. Besides, beautifully designed and what sets it apart from the rest of the lineup is that it was meant for listening to music.
PowerPACPlus’s Summary
- Google Home Max white is a smart speaker developed by the company.
- It is also equipped with Google Assistant technology, which allows you to control smart home devices, play music and more by speaking commands.
- Along the back panel is a microphone switch – this turns the microphone for Google Assistant and the speakerphone on and off.
What is google home max white?
Google Home Max white is a smart speaker developed by the company. This device belongs to the Google Home family and its sleek design and powerful sound make it one of the most popular models.
Google Home Max in white uses advanced audio technology, including two 4.5-inch high-excursion woofers and two 0.7-inch tweeters, which provide rich and full sound.
It is also equipped with Google Assistant technology, which allows you to control smart home devices, play music and more by speaking commands. A clean, minimalist design makes Google Home Max White a perfect addition to a variety of interiors.
Specs of Google Home Max
| Price | $299USD |
| Weight | 5,3kg |
| Color | White |
| Dimensions | 33.5 x 18.7 x 15 cm |
| Waterproof | No |
| Model number | GA00222 |
| Release date | 12/11/2017 |
Comparison of advantages and disadvantages
Advantages
- Good sound.
- Internal microphones self-correct depending on the environment
- Works as a mono speaker, a stereo pair or as part of a whole home audio system.
- Attractive design.
- The Google Assistant keeps getting better
Disadvantages
- Too much bass for audio purists.
- Could do with better lossless audio options.
- Microphones don’t pick up voices well when music is at high volume
- High Price
Who should get the Google Home Max?
- People in the Google ecosystem. If you have a Chromecast, you can ask your speaker to cast to your TV without ever picking up your remote. The same goes for YouTube and YouTube Music.
- Anyone who actively uses Google voice search. If you’re like me and need to be reminded of basic facts all day long, the Google Assistant still gives the best answers of all the personal assistants and will only get better with time.
- Not for Apple Music subscribers. Apple Music doesn’t support Google Cast protocol like YouTube Music, Spotify, etc. So if you want to stream your Apple Music library, you have to work your way through.
Design
While the original, smaller Google Home speaker looks like an air freshener or scented candle, the Home Max is simple and beautiful. The smooth outline has rounded edges and a nice fabric speaker grille installed so seamlessly it looks like it and the surrounding matte plastic are one piece. The canvas has a slight sheen and white LEDs glow behind the surface to indicate the volume level. An ambient light sensor adjusts the brightness of the LEDs. Beneath the grille, dual 0.7-inch tweeters and dual 4.5-inch woofers deliver the sound. These drivers are powered by class D amplifiers.
Measuring 7.5 by 13.3 by 6.1 inches (HWD), the Home Max is available in white/light gray (“chalk”) or black/gray (“charcoal”) models. It’s quite heavy, weighing in at 11.7 pounds, but that’s fine as it’s not meant to be portable.
Adjusting the volume is done using the touch-sensitive surface that runs the length of the speaker’s top panel. Slide your finger to the left to decrease or increase the volume. These levels work together with the master levels of your mobile device when connected via Bluetooth. The center of this panel, delineated with a short straight line, is the play/pause button. We found these controls to be exceptionally responsive, but of course you can just talk to the Home Max too. You can say “set volume”, from one to ten, or use percentages.
Along the back panel is a microphone switch – this turns the microphone for Google Assistant and the speakerphone on and off. The speaker uses an array of six far-field microphones to pick up your voice commands from a distance.
On the underside of the rear panel is a connection for the included power cable, a USB-C port (which passes power to charge your phone, and surprisingly doubles as an Ethernet port with an adapter) and a 3, 5mm jack for wired audio input. You cannot connect external storage or an audio source to the USB-C port.
A silicone rubber base comes with the Home Max and can be placed underneath to prevent it from dancing across tabletops. The same base, which resembles a gray pancake with a Google G in the middle, can be placed on the right side panel and the speaker can be flipped vertically. Placed this way, the orientation sensor shifts the LED display behind the grille so it still reads horizontally, and it also adjusts the audio to mono – if you’re using two speakers as a stereo pair, they should be used vertically. If you’re only using one Home Max speaker, you’ll need to use it horizontally.
including google assistant
The Max is of course not just a speaker. It’s a Google Assistant speaker. You set it up with the Google Home app on your Android or iOS phone (yes, you need a phone), then you can say “Hey Google” to play music, control smart home devices, or browse the web answer based questions.
We pitted the Amazon Echo against the Google Home a few months ago and listed 200 things you can ask your Google Home. Amazon is still ahead of Google in terms of supported smart home brands, and funnily enough, it’s still better at handling calendar information for those with G Suite accounts.
But Google Assistant is great as a whole-home system. It can recognize up to six different voices for different Google accounts, sync music between rooms, and even broadcast messages to all the Google Home devices in your house.
Google Assistant plays music from Google Play Music, YouTube Red, Spotify or Pandora. To request specific numbers, you must be a paid subscriber to the service you choose. You can’t activate locally stored music or your own music library with your voice, but the Max allows you to send music via a Wi-Fi Chromecast link, Bluetooth or an audio cable.
Supported audio streaming file formats are HE-AAC, LC-AAC+, MP3, Vorbis, WAV, FLAC, and Opus. You’ll want to use Chromecast over Wi-Fi for the best audio quality if possible, as the speaker doesn’t list native support for AptX over Bluetooth. That said, not many people can tell the difference between the standard SBC codec and AptX, but if you’re one of them, stick with Chromecast.
The Home Max’s far-field mics are tuned to pick up your voice even when the Max is playing at top volume, something Amazon’s Echo Dot isn’t particularly good at. For example, we were quite impressed when we played Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” at full volume and then said “Hey, Google” in a normal voice – the Max picked it up every time. If we stood between a Google Home speaker and a Home Max speaker, the microphones on each could detect whichever we were closest to, even if it was just a foot or two, and any commands we uttered would be followed by the nearest speaker.
Smart Home connectivity
More and more people are looking for ways to make their homes smarter. Smart home connectivity is growing in popularity as people look for ways to reduce energy consumption and improve comfort.
With the Google Home Max in white, you can control the lighting, thermostat, and other connected devices in your home using voice control and wireless connectivity.
It is a great way to take your home into the future. With its powerful speakers, voice control and wireless connectivity, it’s the perfect device to create a smart home.
Smart competition
As far as smart speakers go, the closest competitor to the Google Home Max right now is JBL’s Link system, specifically the Link 500 ($399.95), which we’re currently reviewing. The Link system has four different speaker options, all with Google Assistant. The main functionality you lose is the ability to make phone calls, which Google’s own speakers have, but third-party models don’t. Of course, you can also assume that Google’s own speakers will be the first to get new features (that’s what happened with Alexa speakers). Unless the Link is convincingly better audio-wise, the Max is a safer bet.
The best speaker out there with Amazon’s Alexa platform is the $200 Sonos One, which sounds good but isn’t in the same league in terms of bass (or price). Apple’s $349 Homepod may eventually compete, but it’s slowed down and Siri is currently well behind Google when it comes to voice assistant capabilities. Plus, we know so little about the speaker that it’s hard to say whether you should wait for it.
Yes, you can absolutely get an Amazon Echo Dot and connect it to one of those other wireless speakers, or even make a whole-home system out of speakers with Echo Dot hats. But there’s a lot to be said for simplicity and elegant design.
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