The Google Home speaker sounds good and nice, but it’s picky

Straight out of the box, The new Google Home speaker He passed a few important tests. Even with the volume at 100 percent and music starting to play from the speaker, I quickly lowered the volume and listened every time I said “Hey Google.” In fact, during two days of testing, the speaker’s three microphones didn’t miss a single wake word — except for the time I whispered from the other room while trying to avoid waking the baby, but I’m not sure that’s a fair test. I set up the speakerphone in the bathroom and spoke to him from the bathroom. Siri rarely hears me walking over running water, but Google performed well.

These are the kinds of things any smart speaker should do well, but basic interactions aren’t always a given. It’s very important for a home speaker, which Google designed not just as a way to control your music and your smart home, but as an ambient way to do all the Gemini stuff: plan and manage your day, access information, and even get tasks done. My colleague Gene Toohey and I have home speakers in our homes now, but we’ve only had a day or so to really test them; Our full review of both the headset itself and the AI ​​assistant inside it will be available soon.

Here’s what I can actually tell you: A home speaker is a very good little speaker. It pumps out big, rich sound from its mesh body, very loud for such a small device. If you’re using it as a kitchen speaker or for background music, I think you’ll never need to reach full volume. (I don’t have a previous Google speaker, the Nest Audio, handy for testing, but if memory serves, it was louder and better than this one. And also a lot bigger.)

My go-to small speaker for years has been the UE Wonderboom, and the home speaker holds its own against a similarly sized Bluetooth dynamo. The Wonderboom gets a little louder, putting a little more emphasis on the vocals and the highs, while the home speaker brings out the bass more. (To be clear, I mean “more,” not “much.” Little speakers, little thump.) A song like Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” is a fun test: bass and drums play the song on your home speaker, while it’s all vocals and lead guitar on the Wonderboom. Which one you choose will mostly be a personal preference. Compared to something like the Amazon Echo Dot Max (also of similar size), there’s no comparison: the home speaker is cleaner, louder and clearer across the board. It makes the Dot Max sound like a really big phone speaker.

I really like the look of the home speaker, which more or less resembles a very colorful softball-sized ball of yarn. It comes in four colors, but I got it in the red one, and I can’t recommend it enough. Since there are no visible buttons or controls, and really nothing to spoil the look other than the white USB-C cable running out the back, the extra color really works – and manages to avoid screaming “Look, a speaker!”

The downside to all this simplicity is that it’s not remotely intuitive how to use a home speaker. You can raise and lower the volume by tapping on the right or left side of the speaker, but the touch targets are small, and it’s not particularly clear what’s right and what’s left. It’s round! (Clicking on the top of the speaker pauses and plays the music, which works well.) The home speaker’s ring of light, which glows when Gemini is listening or responding, is also somewhat hidden underneath the speaker, so you won’t see it at all unless it’s above your eye line. This bit of visual feedback is really important for a smart speaker, and Google probably should have made it more prominent. I also prefer using the Echo Dot’s volume controls, which are just regular buttons.

You can’t use the Home Speaker as a standard Bluetooth speaker, but you can use Google Cast to stream from other devices. You can also group a group of them together to sync sound throughout your home, or pair a pair with a Google TV Streamer and use it for better TV sound. A set of home speakers certainly won’t replace your Sonos setup or speakers, but I’ll bet they’re better than anything coming out of your TV speakers right now.

So far, I’m impressed with this little speaker, especially for $99. But sound is only part of the home speaker story. Google made this thing to bring Gemini into your home, and to offer a new way to control your home and manage your life through its AI-powered assistant. Google hasn’t shipped a smart speaker in six years — whether or not that device is worth the wait will be up to Gemini. We have a lot of testing to do.