The battle for your voice control needs is well underway. Google Home is a great option. Bringing many features to the forefront. Their are other virtual assistants that have been around longer, but its all about continued improvement. Victory goes to those who stay relevant and build the best partnerships.
In this review I went through a lot of Google Homes features, here in the summary I will create a snapshot for you to use as you compare this review with others. Adding voice control to your smart home is a great option. Playing music, turning lights on and off, or just getting a daily summary of whats in store for you. Doing it with your voice makes it that much easier. Also, lets face it, a little cooler too.
[sam_pro id=”1_15″ codes=”true”]Lets take a look at Google Home and the overall experience I have had.
- Setup – Google Home was very easy to setup. Plugging it in and starting the app it was immediately detected. Then the setup wizard guides you through the process of setting up your account finishing the setup. As soon as you are done, the world of voice control is at your beck and call.
- Speaker performance – Google Home is a fantastic sounding speaker. I was surprised at how well it sounded. It has a high excursion 2″ driver + Dual 2″ passive radiators that deliver clear high notes and rich bass. I would venture its the best sounding personal assistant in a box. While Google Home does not support Bluetooth it does support Google Cast which is quickly becoming a standard of its own. Allowing you to cast from all kinds of music apps. Even from your PC / MAC if you have the Google Chrome browser.
- Music Services – The Speaker supports all the popular music services. Google Play, YouTub, Spotify IHeartRadio and Pandora. More are being rolled out daily, so this is definitely not a complete list.
- Home Automation – Google Home is growing its supported list daily. Like other assistants you link accounts through the application and then you can control them. Google Home supports smart hubs, like the Wink. Which allow you to control all your deices from one application. There is also support for TP Link, WEMO, Rachio, Smarthings, and so many other devices. Including IFTTT to round out the gaps. The list is rapidly growing.
- Application – The Google Home application is a stand alone app as well. It will allow you to control devices and accounts from the Google Assistant. This is nice as it brings home control to any android phone. All with a simple ” Ok Google”. The application is also laid out well and easy to use. Most of Google’s applications share a similar navigation scheme.
- Surprises – Google Home sounds great. The sound was definitely a plus. The ability to use my voice to control content on my Chromecast TV was nice. The ability to cast music throughout my house using Google Home was a hit. I can’t believe how much I use this feature. The interaction with Google Home is smooth. The amount of functionality in relation to configuring it is fantastic. I don’t have to configure new abilities or install items. So many things just work. The Ability to interact with up to six accounts is huge!
- Product enhancements – Google Home brings a lot of abilities to the home. There are a couple things I would like to do.
- Bring more music to the table. I know it will be beyond impossible, but it would be nice to have my Prime and Itunes accounts available. This will be the one golden ring for someone to figure out.
- More voice listen points. While I can use my phone, it would be nice to use the Chomecast devices or even other less expensive Google products to help propagate the Google Home throughout the house. It would make it more seemless to use, like some other home assistant systems.
The Award for Google Home
Google Home has all the elements of a solid personal assistant. The ability to have 6 accounts that are recognized by voice, puts it ahead of the pack. Google is definitely coming on strong. The race to be your choice for personal assistant is on. There will be more entering the race as 2017 carries on.
With the functionality of Google Home and its ability to be more than just a voice activated speaker. We at SHA, give Google home the Too Cool Award. Google Home brings the features. Controlling your music. Then controlling your home. Controlling your latest Netflix binge watch. There are a lot of features. Its loaded with the usual Easter eggs and fun too. There is a fortune teller with all kinds of cleaver answers and an endless supply of information. All of them answered with the Google assistants eager voice that is so excited to help.
Now that you have read about the Google Home and the features it brings with the Google assistant, make sure and check out some of our other reviews. Giving you the knowledge to deploy a fantastic home automation system.
