Google Home

Gogle’s echo-competitor brings a whole new world of voice search into your home

$ 130 (£ 100), madeby.goo gle.com

Design

It looks a bit like a posh air freshener or a small vase, but it’s compact (much more compact than the Echo) and customisable (you can buy different-coloured speaker grilles to match your home décor). It suits a bookshelf nicely.

Features

Google Home is much more about search than the Echo – you can ask it anything and you’ll get an answer straight from Google. You can also play music from Spotify and Google Play, and control a limited amount of smart-home devices.

SOUND

For such a diminutive device, Google Home doesn’t sound bad at all. It doesn’t have the power of the Echo – so can seem a little wimpy in comparison. We imagine you’ll want to pair it up with a Chromecast-enabled speaker.

Usability

Set-up is easy using the Google Home app, and in use it’s simply a matter of saying ‘OK Google’ and then your request or question. You can’t change this – it does, if we’re honest, feel a little less personal than the Echo’s ‘Alexa’ command.

2nd

Rates Amazing search functionality – as you’d expect from Google. You can ask it anything and it’ll answer! Slates Sound isn’t brilliant, and at the moment it can only control a fraction of the smart-home devices the Echo can.