The Google Home is a great entry-point into the smart speaker market, and it has already overtaken Amazon's Echo in terms of capabilities. It isn't perfect. There are still bugs. However, it is a fully-featured device with plenty of features.
Google Home's original Google Home ($130): This is the speaker that has earned the highest value in its segment. It is an excellent alternative to the Amazon Echo, and also offers an interesting feature: audio can be played from your phone via WiFi.
It also has a large song collection, so it can play almost any song from YouTube Music or Google Play Music. Plus, it's got built-in Google Cast compatibility, so you can stream audio from a connected device to your Google Home.
Sound Quality
It features a 2-inch driver and two 2-inch passive radiators. These provide stereo imaging and a punchy, crisp bass. It is surprisingly loud for such a small speaker.
The speaker isn't limited to these features. It also offers a variety of other features, which you can manage using the app. You can mute the microphone when you don't want it to hear your voice, and you can create groups of devices so they can be controlled with one voice command.
A separate audio equalizer allows for you to tweak the bass as well as the treble. Although it isn't the best equalizer, it does a good job in adapting to different situations and rooms.
This is especially important for ambient sounds and background music, as it makes it easier to control the volume without needing to adjust individual tracks or change the setting manually. This is also great for audiobooks and podcasts, as it adjusts the volume of spoken words to a more natural setting.
Sound Quality: This speaker is an improvement on the original Google Home and offers a better sound quality than other smart speakers. It has a balanced mid-range, and good low-end detail.
The higher-pitched instruments and vocals can sound a little flat at times. Also, it is difficult to hear the full impact if you listen at high volumes. Although it's not as smooth and consistent as other speakers', the treble doesn't sound too harsh.
The speaker comes with a microphone which picks up the voice quite well. It also has an app that allows you to adjust the volume and treble. The speaker has an ambient IQ feature that adjusts volume to suit the surrounding environment.
Voice Recognition
Although it doesn't have the same accuracy as Alexa or Google Assistants, it can still understand your words. It can answer your questions about weather, traffic, sports and can even show you your calendar.