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Read on to find the differences between these smart speakers. Each of these smart speaker ranges are packed with the best features. The HomePod and Google Home Max are both capable, powerful smart speakers that'll cost you a pretty penny (the Google Home Max costs $100 more). Besides the price, both take slightly different approaches to what a smart speaker should be, and thus, the final products differ in some significant ways. It is compatible with Google Assistant, allowing you to use voice commands to control the device from other Google Assistant-compatible devices. When comparing just Google Home vs. Apple HomePod, Home stands out with its advanced features, multi-user support, and third-party apps.
She’s particularly interested in VR/AR, wearables, digital health, space tech and chatting to experts and academics about the future. She’s contributed to TechRadar, T3, Wired, New Scientist, The Guardian, Inverse and many more. Her first book, Screen Time, came out in January 2021 with Bonnier Books. She loves science-fiction, brutalist architecture, and spending too much time floating through space in virtual reality.
Apple’s Siri: Amazon Echo Killer?
The three Harman Kardon speakers built into the Invoke seemed pretty good — until Apple announced that HomePod would have more than twice that. I also would have liked to have seen some sort of integration with Apple TV, so you could search for and play shows using your voice, and without picking up the remote. Driven by data, run by a passionate team of engineers, testers, technical writers, developers, and more. Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available. The width represents the horizontal dimension of the product. The higher the high-frequency response, the clearer and crispier the treble.
Apple set out to build a speaker that truly sounds amazing and is as easy to set up, use, and integrate into its existing product line, and the HomePod accomplishes all that in spades. Meanwhile, the Google Home Max takes all the smarts of the Google Assistant and takes it to the next level, making it an easy fit into almost any smart home setup. The bigger the screen size is, the better the user experience.
Apple HomePod v Google Home Max: Smarts and features
The same is true for Google Home, except it has built-in support for Google services and streams over Bluetooth. Your preferred service should guide your decision, but fundamentally, you can stream virtually anything on both devices. Based on Apple’s typical pricing strategy, it’s not too surprising that the HomePod Mini is more expensive than the competition, but its RRP makes it one of the most expensive small smart speakers to date. The newest Symfonisk lamp evokes Bali vibes with modern touches, and doubles as a smart speaker made by Sonos. This can be added to the IKEA Home smart app and controlled with other devices. This hi-res stereo speaker is built with two double-dome tweeters, two FST midrange drivers, and a woofer with an 80W Class D amplifier.
For example, in the Devialet app, you can adjust latency for A/V and customize bass for Night Mode. This speaker consists of two lateral woofers and delivers implosive sound with zero distortion, saturation, or background noise. The original Apple Homepods were appreciated by a vocal contingent of fans for AirPlay compatibility, full Apple ecosystem compatibility, and high-fidelity sounds.
Smart Home: Control Your Thermostat, Lights, And More
HomePod Mini has better volume control and more drivers, as well as a neodymium magnet. When you buy Apple HomePod Mini, you get one smart Siri-enabled speaker and a plug-in power cable. At the time of this review, the cost of the Apple HomePod Mini was $99. Honestly not trying to be snarky, I just don’t see how there’s an advantage to these things.
It is compatible with Apple's Siri voice assistant, allowing you to use voice commands to control the device from other Apple HomeKit-compatible devices. Even though they share similar sounding names, there’s a decent amount of features that separate the Apple HomePod Mini and the Google Nest Mini smart speakers. In the way these devices interact with connected hardware and software, there’s a lot to unpack but we’re here to help.
But the way Apple has tied personal requests to individual devices paves the way for a future version of iOS to incorporate syncing with multiple devices depending on which happens to be in proximity. I'd guess it's at least a year away, but to my eyes, it's clearly on the roadmap. AirPlay 2 — and with it, multi-room audio and HomePod stereo pairing — won't ship until later this year. That said, I did get a chance to preview two HomePods in a stereo pair.
Google Assistant comes with such a range of AI options and abilities that neither Alexa nor Siri can match it. Aside from being the best smartphone assistant, Google Assistant is also more accurate than Siri. In the overall battle of performances, Google Assistant wins over Siri by a long shot.
The Apple HomePod Mini has four microphones that work together perfectly, achieving the highest level of noise cancelation. In other words, regardless of how loud your environment is, you won’t have to turn down the volume to give voice commands. At the time of this review, the cost of the Google Nest Audio smart speaker was $99. Even more so if you consider yourself to be an active Siri user or a general fan of Apple’s innovative and smart home ecosystem. Let’s see some of the main points to better understand why so many people simply love Apple’s newest smart speaker. I have heard the Max previously, and while I remember it being slightly muddy, I didn't find it nearly as bad as I did during this listen.
You can speak to either device and ask them to raise or lower the temperature, turn off the lights, or perform other tasks. If you are looking for a high-quality single speaker, this unique smart speaker will truly be music to your ears. At a mere 8 inches tall, this speaker is perfect if you're a fan of hefty sounds while keeping a clean, minimalist space. "HomePod combines Apple-engineered audio technology and advanced software to deliver the highest-fidelity sound throughout the room, anywhere it's placed," Apple states on its website.
Whether you decided to pick up the HomePod or Google Home Max, you're going to end up with a great smart speaker that will fill your home with music and make your life easier with built-in assistants. It really comes down to what you want out of a smart speaker and which services you already use. Apple's HomePod is a compact smart speaker that has amazing sound. The microphones are super responsive — even with the volume turned up — but the HomePod can only use Apple's HomeKit and stream directly from Apple Music. Google Home is less expensive, works with more smart home products, and can differentiate between voices in your household to give each person individualized answers and results.
Google Nest Audio is compatible with the Chromecast streaming platform. Google has integrated the Nest Audio speakers with its Chromecast streaming platform to allow the user to play music across a wide range of different devices. They support all major streaming services like Pandora, Audible, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Spotify, and others. The only difference is that the HomePod Mini supports streaming from AirPlay apps and devices. Agree to use your voice assistant, Siri, to control your speaker’s features and sync your iCloud and Apple Music settings to further personalize your user experience. If you're big on music listening and want an Apple-made, Wi-Fi-connected smart speaker, Apple's HomePod is probably going to be perfect for you.
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