![]() Google has deemed the feature “Smart Sound,” adjusting audio equalization based on the wall. But instead of attempting to create some full audio picture of its surroundings, the system bases its audio fingerprint on the back wall, because much of what you’re hearing is that sound reflected back at you. Like the HomePod, the Max promises a customized audio footprint based on its surroundings. I brought the Max home and found a wall to place it up against. The idea here, however, is that most people don’t actually plop their speakers in the middle of the room. Pretty much every standalone smart home speaker is built that way, ditto for the HomePod. ![]() What’s perhaps most interesting from the design perspective is that Google shied away from 360-degree audio here. Also of note is a switch on the back of the device that disables the microphone - a key privacy feature, though it would have been nice if the company had made it a bit more prominent the way Amazon does with the Echo line. The touch panel on top controls volume and turns the system on an off - though on occasion I had trouble getting it to work just right. It’s a nice-looking device understated, really. The Max is a minimalist, exchanging buttons for a simple touch panel on top, and interacting with a quartet of LED dots that shine beneath the fabric front. It’s a boxy design that comes in black or white (charcoal or chalk, if you will). Like the rest of the Home line, the Max is designed to blend in with its surroundings. The Home Max isn’t a flashy speaker from a design perspective. In fact, if aesthetics dictate purpose in this case, it’s practically a piece of furniture, with a fabric-covered front inline with the rest of the Google Home offerings. The Home Max is very much not a portable speaker. I’m a weird outlier, of course (in many ways, but let’s focus on this one for now). I am currently investigating our company’s worker’s comp policies for the strained muscle in my back. I am painfully aware of this fact because I stupidly had Google deliver it to our office, and I then threw it in a backpack to take home to test. The Google Home Max isn’t effing around here. And with prices approaching $400 a piece, it had better be. The new Echo kind of, sort of, edges in that direction with improved audio, but the Google Home Max and Apple HomePod offer up similar visions for a future in which smart assistants are a nice bonus on a device focused on delivering high-quality, floor-rumbling, room-filling audio. It’s no surprise, then, that we’ve seen Amazon, Apple and Google all head in that direction in recent months. Proprietary products are already competing with offerings from big-name audio brands like Sonos, Sony and JBL. In order for smart speakers to continue to have a spot in the home, they’re going to have to be speakers first, smart second. Amazon and Google have both made clear their intention to make their respective AI device agnostic, so the days of the standalone Google Home or Amazon Echo might well be numbered.Īssistant and Alexa are already being built into everything from thermostats to lamps. ![]() ![]() Promoter: Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043.The days of buying devices or smart assistants will be over soon enough. No refunds for partial billing period are available. ![]() You can cancel your trial at no charge at any time before the trial is over. At the end of the promotion, you will be automatically charged the individual subscription price, currently $11.99/month through YouTube billing or $15.99/month on Apple billing on a monthly recurring basis. Valid form of payment required at sign-up, but you will not be charged until the promotion is complete. Offer must be redeemed by Januat 11:59pm PST. Offer only available to customers who are not current YouTube Premium, YouTube Music Premium or Google Play Music subscribers, have not been YouTube Premium, YouTube Music Premium, or Google Play Music subscribers nor participated in a YouTube Premium, YouTube Music Premium or Google Play Music trial before. This YouTube Premium 3 month trial promotion is open to participants in Canada who purchase and activate a Google Nest Mini, Google Home Max, Nest Audio, Nest Hub, Hub Max, Chromecast, Chromecast Ultra, Chromecast with Google TV or Nest Wifi Point before Januat 11:59pm PST. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |