Neil Hughes
While Apple's HomePod couldn't reach store shelves before the end of 2017, Google's competing Home Max speaker has arrived right on time, with orders now being accepted at Best Buy and shipping in time for Christmas.
As of Monday morning, retailer Best Buy is now accepting Google Home Max orders. Units purchased with next-day delivery are advertised to arrive on Tuesday.
Google itself hasn't yet started sales of the speaker, however, as its own online store invites customers to join a waitlist.
First announced in October, the Google Home Max with SmartSound is a direct competitor to Apple's own $349 HomePod. Unlike the HomePod, however, the Google Home Max is shipping in 2017.
Originally scheduled to ship in December, the HomePod was delayed until early 2018, with Apple officials saying the company needs more time to complete the device.
The Google Home Max features two 4.5-inch high-excursion woofers that offer room-filling sound. Modifying sound based on the shape of a room, much like Apple's forthcoming HomePod, the Google Home Max uses advanced sensors and a machine learning model.
It includes access to YouTube Music, Spotify, Google Play Music, Pandora, and iHeartRadio. It also supports Google Cast, Bluetooth, and auxiliary input, and will connect with Apple devices like an iPhone or iPad.
At $399, it's actually $50 more than Apple's already-pricey HomePod, now coming in 2018. To offset that, the Google Home Max comes with a free 12-month subscription to YouTube Red, which includes YouTube Music ad-free.
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29 Comments
Still it'll never be a HomePod. Apple always watches the competition come out first then puts out a more refined concept later.
Still no sight of iMac Pro, HomePod, new cinema displays, new Mac Pro.
I hope with Ive back as chief industrial design things get a true speed bump. Because it seems to take ages for every product nowadays...
Apple. What have they gotten right this year?
Edit (okay, I thouht of a couple):
APFS
iPhone X
Multi-task, Files in iOS 11 for iPad (but the delay of Airplay 2, Apple Cash, calculator bug, ZeroDay in homekit, and control center confusion I'd list this as a beta, mabye 11.3?)
Lack of audio beam forming and forward facing speakers only means that the Max won't have the ability to do much more adjustment to the room other than volume and equalization. It's a bit of a stretch to claim that it's "much like" the HomePod in that respect. I think Google expected Apple was just going to add WiFi and some updated styling to the old Apple HiFi speaker, thus the Max looking very much like an updated HiFi. Swing and a miss!