The Google Home speaker looks and feels good – but it’s good

Out of the box, a The new Google Home speaker passed several important tests. Even when the volume was at 100 percent and music was playing from the speaker, it would just beep and listen every time I said “Hey, Google.” In fact, during two days of testing, the speaker’s three microphones didn’t miss a single word – except for the time I whispered from across the room while trying to avoid waking the baby, but I’m not sure that’s a good test. I set up a speaker in the bathroom and talk to it from the shower; Siri doesn’t hear me at all in rushing water, but Google did just fine.

These are the types of things that every smart speaker should be good at, but the basics aren’t always provided. It is very important for the Home Speaker, which Google created not only as a way to control your music and your smart home but as an all-round way to do all things Gemini: organize and manage your day, get information, even do things. My friend Jen Tuohy and I both have Home Speakers in our homes right now, but we only have a day or so to test them; Our full review, of the speaker itself and the AI ​​assistant inside, is coming soon.

Here’s what I can tell you in advance, though: The Home Speaker is a great speaker. It pumps big, rich sound out of its mesh body, and it’s incredibly loud for such a small device. If you’re using it as a kitchen speaker or for background music, I suspect you won’t need much of a beat. (I don’t have Google’s previous speaker, the Nest Audio, handy for testing, but if memory serves, it was louder and better than this one. And much bigger.)

My little speaker has been a UE Wonderboom for years, and the Home Speaker holds its own against a similar Bluetooth dynamo. The Wonderboom gets a little bigger, and puts a little more emphasis on the vocals and highs, while the Home Speaker produces more of the bass. (To be clear, I mean “a lot,” not “many.” Small speakers, small small.) Songs like “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” by Fall Out Boy are a fun test: Bass and drums drive the music on the Home Speaker, while everything is clear and the lead guitar on the Wonderboom. What you choose will be your personal preference. Compared to the other (equally large) Amazon Echo Dot Max, however, there is no comparison: the Home Speaker is cleaner, louder, and sharper in all areas. It makes the Dot Max sound like a large phone speaker.

I really like the look of the Home Speaker, which looks like a really cute, ball-shaped ball. It comes in four colors, but I have the red one, and I can’t recommend it enough. Because there are no visible buttons or controls, and basically nothing to spoil the look except for the white USB-C cable sticking out of the back, the additional color scheme works – and avoids shouting “look, speaker!”

The downside of all this minimalism is that it’s not very intuitive how to use the Home Speaker. You can raise and lower the volume by tapping the left or right side of the speaker, but the touch settings are small, and it’s not clear what’s left and right. It’s a cycle! (Tapping on the top of the speaker will pause and play music, which works fine.) The Home Speaker’s light ring, which lights up when the Gemini is listening or answering, is also hidden under the speaker, so you can’t see it at all unless it’s above your eye. These visual comments are very important to a smart speaker, and Google would probably make it more popular. I also would have liked to have the Echo Dot’s volume controls, which are simple buttons.

You can’t use the Home Speaker as a Bluetooth speaker, but you can use Google Cast to cast from other devices. You can also connect a group of them so that you can listen to music in your home, or connect several to Google TV Streamer and use it for good sound on TV. A set of Home Speakers won’t replace your Sonos setup or your sound system, but I’d say they’re better than what’s coming out of your TV right now.

So far, I’m impressed with this little speaker, especially for $99. But audio is only part of the Speaker’s story. Google created this to get Gemini in your home, to bring a new way to manage your home and manage your life through its AI assistant. Google hasn’t launched a smart speaker in six years – if this one is worth the wait it’ll be up to Gemini. And we still have a lot of tests to do.