Digital voice assistants in the home are on the up. We’ve already seen Amazon Echo come to our homes recently and, while we’ve sort of known of its existence for some time now, a new contender has thrown its hat in the ring. Enter the intriguingly fancy Google Home assistant.
Taking up a sizeable chunk of the Google event on 4 October where we saw both Pixel phones and a new Chromecast make an appearance, we got our first glimpse at the Home in action for the very first time. The folks over at Amazon have finally got a proper Echo contender.
Google Home: Release date and price
Undercutting the Amazon Echo by $50, Home is a considerably cheaper option at $129. While there's no word yet on a global release date, we do know you can pre-order Home right now in the US, and it'll be in stores in the states on November 4.
Google Home: Everything you need to know
Cutting it short, Google Home is a Wi-Fi-enabled Bluetooth speaker powered by Google Assistant, which also uses Google's own search engine too. It’s voice-powered, with only a capacitive touch panel on the top of the wonderfully dinky little device.
It should fit nice and snug on your bookshelf or on top of your chest of drawers without taking up too much space. It's not as tall as the Echo but does have a slightly bigger footprint, though.
It’s got different customisable bottoms too, in various colours and finishes to match it up with your home décor. Underneath the swappable base you’ve got a fancy high-excursion speaker for audio playback. At the top you’ve got four LEDs, in Google colours, for interacting with it.
It looks a little bit like a large baby monitor, but for adults. You can ask it all sorts of stuff, from a morning schedule briefing, to phrase translations ahead of your holiday. I'll be heading off to Rome soon, so "Where's the pub?" in Italian would be something useful to learn.
There’s clearly a significant draw with Google Home compared to its Echo rival. Firstly, its main purpose isn’t really in driving e-commerce such as with Echo’s insistence on buying content through Amazon’s own services.
Another big appeal is that if you’re already invested in the Google architecture, what with Drive, Gmail, Play Music and Video, you’ll fit right in with Home. It syncs directly to your Google account, and can help manage pretty much any aspect of it, should you let it.
Home can connect to pretty much any wireless smart device in your home. You’ll be able to turn your lights on and off if you choose to connect it to Nest for instance, and can even set timers and alarms on any device that’s currently connected. You'll be able to set it up with IFTTT, Samsung SmartThings and Phillips Hue too, for a super-connected home.
By far the most intriguing aspect is Home’s own audio-casting feature. Much like Amazon Echo’s connectivity with their Fire tablets, you’ll be able to stream music from any Android device, using it as a sort of visual hub to control your tunes. You can also stream video to your TV via YouTube and Netflix soon if you’re so inclined.
As with any always-listening device in your home, a couple of privacy concerns are flagged up. Google has made it clear, though, that it’ll only listen for things you actually give it permission to. Home can learn all sorts of details about you, your calendar, emails and family schedule, but only if you let it. Want to mute the mic? Just press the button on the front.
Google Home review: Early verdict
It looks to be a pretty heated contest between both Google and Amazon in the digital voice assistant race. While the Echo has had a decent head start, without any proper competition, Home just might shake things up a little. As for who’ll be crowned the winner, we’ll have to wait and see until I get some more quality time with Home.
Considering we won't be getting Google Home in the UK at the same time as our friends over the pond, Amazon has the crown for the time being, at least over here. Of course, we’ll be giving Google Home a proper test when it finally hits our shores so check back at Expert Reviews for our full review.
