Google Home Max was announced all the way back to October 2017, unveiled alongside the Pixel 2. It was then released in the US and other markets such as Canada and Australia, where it received some good reviews. Now, the good news is that Google Home Max has been released in the UK and it is available for immediate purchase. The not so good news is that it retails for £399, but I’m sure Google thinks it is worth every penny!
Is Google Max worth buying?
This is Google’s third speaker, following the Google Home and Google Home Mini speakers. It’s quite large (a little larger than a typical shoe box) and it weighs a massive 5.3kg. To activate the voice assistant on the max, you just speak the company’s name – “Ok Google”. It is also available as an app.
The sound quality on the Max “doesn’t disappoint” according to many reviews. The Home Max has two tweeters, which are both 0.7″ in size, and it has two dual voice-coil woofers, both 4.5″ in size. This is the main reason that it is so BIG. It’s a high-quality speaker that offers great sound and is capable of delivering deep and clear music playback from apps such as Spotify and Google Play. There is a 3.5mm audio jack on the back of the speaker to allow for external inputs.
The design is simple. There is no obvious Google logo on it and it’ll blend into rooms with its charcoal or chalk colours. The speaker, however, is slightly too bulky for some. With its size and weight would make it seem furniture instead of a reserved speaker, but if your not a minimalist then you don’t have to worry. Google includes a magnetic rubber pad with the speaker so you can place it horizontally or vertically. You can’t pair the speaker with the other Google smart speakers at the moment, but you can go buy two Maxes, your wallet permitting, if you are after a very loud, intelligent stereo system.
The speaker has touch controls along one side of the speaker. These make the volume change by swiping a finger across the space of the casing. If you tap, you’ll pause the music. The controls adapt to whether you have the speaker in a horizontal or a vertical position.
You can still ask the same requests to the Google Home Max as the original Google Home. Like asking the device to read you the news or finding out the weather.
You can purchase the device from Google’s UK Store.
