The Google Home Speaker sounds good and looks great — but it’s finicky

Right retired of the box, the new Google Home Speaker passed a mates of important tests. Even pinch the measurement astatine 100 percent and euphony blaring retired of the speaker, it quickly ducked the audio and listened each clip I said “Hey, Google.” In fact, successful 2 days of testing, the speaker’s 3 microphones haven’t missed a azygous aftermath connection — isolated from for the clip I stage-whispered to it from the different room while trying to debar waking up the baby, but I’m not judge that’s a adjacent test. I group up the speaker successful the bath and chatted pinch it from the shower; Siri hardly ever hears maine complete the moving water, but Google did beautiful well.

These are the sorts of things immoderate smart speaker should do well, but the basal interactions aren’t ever a given. They’re incredibly important for the Home Speaker, which Google designed not conscionable arsenic a measurement to power your euphony and your smart location but arsenic an ambient measurement to do each things Gemini: scheme and negociate your day, entree information, moreover get worldly done. My workfellow Jen Tuohy and I some person Home Speakers successful our houses correct now, but we’ve only had a time aliases truthful to really trial them; our afloat review, of some the speaker itself and the AI adjunct wrong it, is coming soon.

Here’s what I tin already show you, though: The Home Speaker is simply a beautiful bully small speaker. It pumps big, rich | sound retired of its mesh body, and gets plentifulness large for specified a mini device. If you’re utilizing it arsenic a room speaker aliases for inheritance music, I fishy you’ll ne'er request to deed afloat volume. (I don’t person Google’s erstwhile speaker, the Nest Audio, useful for testing, but if representation serves, it was some louder and amended than this one. And besides overmuch larger.)

My go-to mini speaker has for years been a UE Wonderboom, and the Home Speaker holds its ain against the likewise sized Bluetooth dynamo. The Wonderboom gets a spot louder, and has a small much accent connected vocals and higher, while the Home Speaker brings retired much of the bass. (To beryllium clear, I do mean “more,” not “a lot.” Small speakers, mini thump-thump.) A opus for illustration “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” by Fall Out Boy is simply a nosy test: The bass and drums thrust the opus connected the Home Speaker, whereas it’s each vocals and lead guitar connected the Wonderboom. Which you take will beryllium mostly individual preference. Compared to thing for illustration the (also likewise sized) Amazon Echo Dot Max, though, there’s nary comparison: The Home Speaker is cleaner, louder, and conscionable sharper successful each areas. It makes the Dot Max sound for illustration a really large telephone speaker.

I really for illustration the look of the Home Speaker, which presents much aliases little for illustration a very colorful, softball-sized shot of yarn. It comes successful 4 colors, but I sewage it successful red, and I can’t urge it enough. Because location are nary visible buttons aliases controls, and successful truth thing marring the look different than the achromatic USB-C cablegram moving retired the back, the other popular of colour really useful — and manages to debar screaming “look, a speaker!”

The downside of each this minimalism is that it’s not remotely intuitive really to usage the Home Speaker. You tin raise and little the measurement by tapping connected the correct aliases near broadside of the speaker, but the touch targets are small, and it’s not moreover peculiarly evident what’s correct and what’s left. It’s round! (Tapping the apical of the speaker pauses and plays music, which useful fine.) The Home Speaker’s ray ring, which glows erstwhile Gemini is listening aliases responding, is besides somewhat hidden underneath the speaker, specified that you won’t spot it astatine each unless it’s up supra your eyeline. That spot of visible feedback is really important for a smart speaker, and Google astir apt should person made it much prominent. I’d besides alternatively person the Echo Dot’s measurement controls, which are conscionable plain ol’ buttons.

You can’t usage the Home Speaker arsenic a modular Bluetooth speaker, but you tin usage Google Cast to watercourse from different devices. You tin besides group a bunch of them together for synced audio astir your house, aliases brace a mates to a Google TV Streamer and usage it for amended TV sound. A bunch of Home Speakers surely won’t switch your Sonos setup aliases your soundbar, but I’d wager they’re amended than whatever’s coming retired of your TV speakers correct now.

So far, I’m impressed pinch this small speaker, particularly for $99. But audio is only portion of the Home Speaker’s story. Google made this point to get Gemini successful your house, to bring a caller measurement to power your location and tally your life done its AI assistant. Google hasn’t shipped a smart speaker successful six years — whether this one’s worthy the hold will beryllium each up to Gemini. And we person a batch of testing near to do.