GOOGLE HOME

GOOGLE HOME

The smart speaker from the eponymous search giant was designed to compete with the popular Amazon Echo. The Google Home can play music, but it's primarily designed as a vehicle for Google Assistant -- Google's voice-activated virtual helper that's connected to the internet. The Google Assistant you access via the Home is the same as the one on recent Android phones such as the Google Pixel 4.

The Google Home is always listening to its environment, but it won't record what you're saying or respond to your commands until you speak one of its preprogrammed wake words -- either "OK, Google" or "Hey, Google." Here's a list of commands you can give your Google Home.

Google actually has three current first party smart speakers. Google Assistant debuted in the original $100 Google Home. The $50 Google Nest Mini squeezes all of the smarts of the original into a smaller, more affordable package. It replaced the Google Home Mini last fall. The $300 Google Home Max puts Google's smarts into a speaker designed to deliver premium sound. 

All three speakers give you access to the same Google Assistant service. They differ in size, sound quality and price. You use the same Google Home app to set up all three, and they all respond to the same wake words and commands.