Google Home (2016)

1039 reviews

Dec, 2024

Positive
usability (301)
design (76)
size (74)
price (40)
sound (39)

Negative
bass quality (2)
microphone (1)

General overview
Price comparison

alaTest has collected and analyzed 1039 reviews of Google Home (2016). The average rating for this product is 4.3/5, compared to an average rating of 4.5/5 for other products in the same category for all reviews. People really like the sound and price. The design and size also get good comments. There are some mixed reviews about the treble quality. Some have doubts about the microphone and bass quality.

usability, size, design, price, sound

bass quality, microphone

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other products in the same category the Google Home (2016) is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 90/100 = Excellent quality.

Review analysis

(Based on 1039 reviews)

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Showing 1 - 10 of 803 Show Reviews: in English | in other languages (235)

Expert review by (engadget.com)

Pros and cons: Our quick verdict on Google Home

Google Home is a great way to show off just how smart Google is, but it doesn't feel like an essential experience yet. That's mainly because it lags behind the Echo in terms of support for third-party services. That makes Echo a smarter buy if you want...

Tasteful design ; Access to Google's massive knowledge graph ; Google Assistant is conversational and context aware ; Chromecast integration has the potential to be a killer feature

Speaker quality is only so-so for music ; Limited third-party app support compared to Amazon ; A handful of expected features aren't available at launch

Nov, 2016

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Expert review by : Jenny McGrath (digitaltrends.com)

Google Home review

The Google Home is fun, functional, and should only get better with time.

It can be personalized to you, giving you info on your commute, weather, and calendar ; Works with Chromecast ; Answers questions and follow-ups fairly well ; Lots of choices for music

Works with fewer devices than Amazon Alexa

Overall, it’s come a long way since its debut. It quickly caught up to where the Echo was after a year in terms of smart-home control, and it keeps adding features that go way beyond skills. The Voice Match and calling are both great additions, and now...

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Expert review by : Andrew Gebhart (cnet.com)

Google Home is better than ever, but you probably shouldn't buy it

It's a well-balanced smart speaker with tons of features. But if you have a specific need, there's likely a better smart speaker for you.

The Google Home accurately answers almost any question you can think to ask it. It's loaded with cool features that allow it to make calls, control your smart home, help out in the kitchen and more. It even sounds pretty good when playing music and can...

Google's marquee smart speaker still can't do a couple of basic tasks such as take notes. Its sound quality won't be good enough if you're an audiophile. The Google Home has caught up, but still doesn't work with as many smart home gadgets as the...

The Google Home is a great smart speaker with a ton of capabilities, but you have so many smart speaker options at this point that I'm less inclined to recommend this well balanced middle child.

Nov, 2018

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Expert review by : Andrew Gebhart (cnet.com)

Google Home review

Amazon's Echo is the undisputed ruler of the nascent smart home market -- a tabletop speaker with a voice-controlled online "smart assistant" named Alexa at your beck and call to answer your questions, tell you a joke or control dozens of compatible...

With Google Assistant built in, the Google Home integrates with Google Calendar, Maps and Chromecast, so it gives you personalized answers. Say the word, and the Home can also control your smart home gadgets or send music and video to your TV and...

The Home's integrations with other Google services still don't allow a lot of give and take -- you can't create reminders or make a to-do list.

Google Home offers more personalized virtual assistance than the Echo, and it's better at controlling your digital entertainment.

May, 2017

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Expert review by : Melissa Riofrio (pcworld.com)

Google Home gets hands-free calling and 6 other cool new features

Google's A.I. speaker gets hands-free calling, proactive assistance, and HBONow support, among other interesting tricks.

Google Home is running hard to catch up with Amazon Echo, which has its own host of services, as well as deeper links with smart-home products than Google Home. On the other hand, Google Home has some advantages on the AI front. These new features will...

May, 2017

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Expert review by : Sascha Segan (pcmag.com)

Google Home

The Google Home is a great-looking speaker with a voice assistant that's catching up to Amazon's Alexa, although it hasn't quite gotten there yet.

Attractive design. Removable color bases. Well-rounded sound. Multi-room audio.

Still fewer skills than Amazon's Alexa. Doesn't work as a standard Bluetooth speaker.

Alexa is still the queen of voice assistants. Google Home is learning fast, and it does some things better than Alexa does. If you have a Google Play Music account and multiple Google accounts around your household, Google Home will give you a smoother...

Apr, 2017

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Expert review by : Vincent Nguyen (slashgear.com)

Living with Google Home

The Google Assistant has been bundled into the browser, added into Android, and squeezed into Android Wear: now, it's getting a sleek object d'art for the smart home. Google Home is the search giant's take on the smart speaker space, a direct challenge...

Nov, 2016

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Expert review by : Jon Phillips (techhive.com)

Google Home review: Google puts its A.I. on a nightstand for the win

There's no way to review Google Home in isolation. This hyper-aware voice-activated speaker is an Amazon Echo clone, but improves upon the original concept.

Looks great, sounds great. ; Category-leading microphone performance. ; Google Assistant is hyper-intelligent. ; Packed with surprise-and-delight features.

Plays catch-up to Amazon in third-party device support. ; Still has some learning to do.

There’s still work ahead for the Google Home team. Google needs to support all the smart home platforms that the Echo supports, and Google Home could still learn a few tricks for the devices it control. For example, Home can instantly switch from my...

Nov, 2016

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Expert review by : Abner Li (9to5google.com)

Google Home 2.46 for Android brings promised Android/Google TV remote

As promised last month , the Google Home app now features a built-in remote to control your Android/Google TV. Starting on Android, you no longer have to use the Google TV app or the included physical remote to control your television. expand full story

Nov, 2021

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Expert review by : Abner Li (9to5google.com)

Google Home app gains ‘Air Quality’ setting as Nest Hub AQI starts appearing

Last month, Google announced that the Nest Hub would start showing Air Quality (AQI) information in the US. Many are now seeing a new setting in the Google Home app, though the actual reading is not yet widely rolled out on Smart Displays. expand full...

Sep, 2021

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