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To connect a smart home device, open up the Google Home app and follow the instructions. Once you’ve connected the device, you can use voice commands to control it. As far as smart speakers go, the top competitor for the Google Home Max right now is JBL's Link system, especially the Link 500 ($399.95), which we are in the process of reviewing. The Link system has four different speaker options, all with Google Assistant.
The Max supports HE-AAC, LC-AAC+, MP3, Vorbis, WAV, FLAC, and Opus audio formats, and you’ll find 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi for high-performance streaming, and Bluetooth 4.2. There’s an auxiliary port on the rear if you want to connect the Max to a record player , and a USB-C port lets you connect an Ethernet cable via a USB-C to Ethernet dongle. Google said the Max optimizes sound based on the room it’s placed in (the company calls this “Smart Sound”), and the Max can hear you across the room even when it’s playing. The Google Home Max was designed to be a powerful speaker that can fill any room with rich sound. It has two 4.5-inch high-excursion woofers and two 0.7-inch custom tweeters that produce balanced sound with deep bass and crisp highs.
Who should get the Google Home Max?
Starting this fall, you’ll be able to find Matter-enabled smart lighting, plugs, locks, sensors, thermostats, shades and blinds, Wi-Fi routers, and more. Now you can view live video from your Nest cameras and doorbell, right from the home screen in your Google Home app.
Unfortunately, you can’t say “Yo Google” just yet, but “Okay Google” or “Hey Google” work just fine. At soft and quiet volumes, the tonal balance remains impressively consistent, as do all the dynamics sub-attributes . This makes the Google Home Max a relevant speaker for listening to music and podcasts, and even for watching videos at soft volumes.
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However, if you're looking for a wired speaker that supports Apple AirPlay, consider the Sonos Five or the Sonos One Gen 2. Google didn’t provide an official reason for discontinuing the product. Several sources on technology updates shred that Google wouldn’t be manufacturing the device anymore but would continue to support existing users. Despite the self-tuning capabilities of the Google speaker, I found that I needed to tweak it a little, especially when sitting on table in free space. For most material, adjusting the Max's bass by +3db in the Google Home app's settings helped propel rock and dance songs and reduce the brightness a tad.
Use the activity tab to better understand what’s happening in and around your smart home. Customize your devices to do what you want, when you want, with new automations in the Google Home app. The totally redesigned app has a new five-tab layout that’s easier to navigate. Pin your favorite devices to your home view to see multiple camera live streams right when you open the app.
Speakers and mics
I did have some issues with the speaker hearing me when I spoke to it while music was playing, but I’ll get into that later. If you have a Google Chromecast, getting anything to play on your TV is seamless. Even pausing and playing the content is pretty quick and reliable just by telling the speaker to pause or resume playback.
The mute switch doesn’t stop music playback, it just turns off the microphone so it isn’t always listening for the hotword. Speaking of which, I found that the microphones on the Google Home Max aren’t too good at picking up my voice when music was playing around 75% or above. I found myself borderline yelling “Okay Google” and sometimes, even then I would just have to walk over to it and physically lower the volume. The Google Home Max and the Apple HomePod are two speakers with a voice assistant built-in, and you may prefer one over the other. While both speakers have a similarly balanced sound profile, the Google speaker has a companion app that lets you EQ its bass and treble and comes with Google Assistant built-in.
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There's also a USB-C port, but the manufacturer doesn't mention what it can be used for. It's powered only by AC, so it needs to be plugged in a wall outlet for it to work. Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available. TheGoogle Terms of Serviceand supplementalNest Terms of Serviceapply to use of the Google Home app and devices set up via the app.
We'd like to have seen track navigation controls onboard—you'll be skipping tracks either on your phone itself or with the power of your voice and Google Assistant. But there's no reason to exclude them from the design if you're choosing to include volume and playback controls. And hey, if we're being pie in the sky, it would have been great to enhance Google's voice options with direct streaming from Tidal or another lossless audio service. See if your office light is on or your kitchen speaker is still playing, with just a few taps. Automations Customize your devices to do what you want, when you want, with new automations in the Google Home app. Automate schedules so you don’t have to worry that you left something on when you’re away.
Unfortunately, it also lacks a bit of detail in the upper treble, which might make it sound a bit dark. It's still well-balanced overall, especially in the mid-range, which is great for vocals and dialogue. We used the Smart Sound feature that auto-calibrates the speaker to the room it's in. The Sony SRS-RA3000 and the Google Home Max are similar home speakers with different strengths. The Sony has a much better soundstage, and its sound profile is more customizable than the Google. That said, the Google offers excellent voice assistant support, while the Sony doesn't have this feature.
In keeping with the minimalist aesthetic of products such as the Google Home Mini and Daydream View, the Google Home Max demonstrates that twill is the new piano black. The whole front of the speaker is covered in a gray cloth while the back is a smooth, matte plastic. The Google Home Max is also equipped with far-field microphones that enable it to hear you from anywhere in the room. This means that you can ask questions or give commands from across the room without having to shout or walk close to the speaker. PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering lab-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services.
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