![]() Thus, Brent insisted that Geoff and Lauren each wear a special pair of “blind-testing glasses”-sunglasses covered with painter’s tape. ![]() On top of that, even though the speakers were hidden behind thin black fabric, the listeners would have been able to identify the speakers as their flashing lights shone through the material. Of course, the voice commands would reveal the speakers’ identities, so Geoff and Lauren listened to pink noise through Direct Sound Serenity II noise-isolating headphones while Brent told the speakers which tunes to play. At its May 2017 I/O presentation, Google announced that users will be able to add calendar events, set reminders, and make outgoing Google Voice calls to the US and Canada we’ll test those improvements as they roll out this summer.Ĭomplicating our blind test was the fact that the Google Home plays only material sourced through the Internet, which meant Brent would have to use voice commands to cue up the music for the test. These are all things we’re told are on Google’s own to-do list, so we expect Google Assistant to evolve over time. ![]() Google Assistant uses the intelligence of Google Maps to give you an address or a distance to a location, as well as to let you know what traffic conditions are, but currently it can’t give you directions. Currently, however, you have no way to create a to-do list other than using Keep, nor can you ask Google to read or create email or to make a Google Voice phone call. You can add items to Google Keep by adding things to the Home’s shopping list, which will also show up on Keep. You can ask what’s on your calendar, but you can’t add things to it, which is surprising because you can do that with the Echo. You can ask the Home to translate a phrase from English to another language. You can set alarms and timers, and even schedule recurring alarms. One of the expectations of a Google digital assistant is that it works with Google’s online services, but in this regard it falls short. GOOGLE HOME MAX HOW TOGoogle is better if you ask how to roast a chicken or what wine goes with steak, but you can find more than 20 Alexa skills about cooking and another 20 for wine fans. Both can do math, tell you the population of China, and state how many teaspoons are in a cup. GOOGLE HOME MAX BLUETOOTHWhen we asked what the best Bluetooth speaker was, the Home had no answer, while the Echo, unsurprisingly, suggested a model and asked if it should order that speaker from Amazon right at that moment. When we asked the two devices about the weather one morning, the Home reported that it would be “partly sunny,” while the Echo indicated “intermittent clouds.” When we asked what the smartest dog was, the Home said it was the collie, while the Echo kept silent, probably out of respect for a hound dog that happened to be in the room. On simple information searches, the Home does a little better, offers a bit more contextual information, and usually gives a longer (though not necessarily more informative) answer. ![]() The Google Home’s main advantage over the Echo and Alexa is, well, Google. Although each model offers something different in terms of speakers and microphones (and in some cases, visual displays), the basic Google Assistant functionality should remain the same no matter which Home you plan to use. ![]() But the company also offers several other versions of its smart speaker, including the Home Mini, Home Max, and Nest Hub, the last of which has a screen. We did our research for this guide using the standard Google Home model. We also enlisted the help of The Wirecutter’s Los Angeles audio experts-Brent Butterworth, Lauren Dragan, and Geoff Morrison-to judge the speaker quality. To find out how good a digital assistant, music player, and smart-home controller the Google Home is, we spent two weeks trying all its features, comparing it against Amazon’s Echo where appropriate. But it has other features that set it apart-both above and below-from its other smart-speaker competitors. On search, it relies obviously on Google, which gives it a depth that other voice-search systems like Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri can’t match (although they’re not actually as far apart as you might expect). The Home’s greatest promises have to do with its voice-activated search functions, its Google-integration skills, and its music abilities. ![]()
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