The date was October 4, 2016. Google announced it's upcoming Home smart speaker, which was slated to be the Amazon Echo killer. Has it lived up to it's promises? Let's take a look. When unboxing the device for the first time, you get the device itself, a grey base, an AC adapter (warning: the Google Home's port is proprietary), and four pages of paperwork. The hardware is well-designed and should fit in well with anyone without sticking out as a piece of technology. The bottom base can be replaced with six available first-party bases available for $20 and $40 respectively. The device also features a touchpad on the top with volume control, play/pause for media, and activation of the Google Assistant. Of course, the Assistant can also be activated using one of three hotwords: "Ok, Google," "Hey, Google," and "Ok, Boo Boo" are all options. Currently, the Assistant is more helpful than Amazon's Alexa software due to it being conversational. Basically, this means that, for example, you could ask, "When did the Hunger Games come out?" and follow it up with, "Who starred in it?" without the Assistant getting confused. The Assistant, however, struggles with third-party support. It works well with first-party devices & apps, like Chromecast, Play Music, and Google Keep, but falls flat with smart home support and Google's version of Alexa Skills, called Actions. The catalogue of Actions is growing, yes, but Home still has no support for devices like Lifx smart bulbs, narrated news like CNET, and ride-hailing service Lyft (Uber is supported). More pros with the Home over the Echo is that, even though the selection is smaller, there is more functionality with what smart home services are supported. For example, with Google Home you can change the colors with Phillips Hue bulbs. Also, the speakers get the nod over the Echo with better bass and louder noise. The Google Home app is very user-friendly, and the Assistant has a fun "personality" which Google claims they spent a considerable amount of time working on. To conclude, the Google Home is much better than the Amazon Echo in a lot of ways, but it is stagnated by support from third parties. However, like mentioned earlier, new features are being added slowly but surely, and in the future, it may even gain multi-user support, according to a teardown of a forthcoming Home app update by Android Police. The ability to shop via Google Express has recently been added, and it is also backed by Netflix, which isn't the case with the Echo. After all of this back and forth, the question posed at the beginning of this review can now be answered; is the Google Home worth your money? For the competitive price of $129, I certainly love my Home. The Google Assistant is far smarter than Alexa, and it works perfectly with my lifestyle. But right now, the Google Home is just a symbol of potential. Very good potential, but still just potential. Right now, a purchase of this device is only for niche audiences, and so is the normal-sized Echo, but the Echo Dot isn't. What Google needs to do is release a mini version of the Home to get it to as much houses as possible, and then third-party support will voluntarily come to them. Would I recommend the Google Home to the average consumer? Not until more assistance comes in from other brands. But to a tech fan deciding between the $180 Echo and $129 Home? The Google Home has smarter software, and again, tons of potential. It is most definitely the better device. Let's remember that Amazon had a two year head start. With Google only being the second tech company to throw their hard into the smart speaker ring, it shouldn't be too far until I can recommend it to everyone, especially if the Mountain View-based company is smart enough to appeal to budget audiences. This device is one to keep your eye on in 2017, and I'll most definitely circle back with a re-review next year. Roan Thibault is the editor-in-cheif of Mirror Journal.
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