- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Review Updates
- Best Speaker
- Best Cheap
- Comparison
- Lineup
- Page Updates
- Conclusion
- Comments
We've bought and tested the three best Google home speakers, two of which are still available on the market. Google produces a wide variety of Internet-related products, including smart speakers that offer compatibility with other technologies in the Google ecosystem. They're designed for home use with built-in support for Chromecast and other manufacturer-specific tech. Read on to learn what we think are the best Google Assistant speakers!
Updates
- 01/03/2023 Google Nest Audio updated
- 01/06/2021 Google Nest Mini reviewed
- 12/14/2020 Google Home Max reviewed
Best Google Speakers
-
Best Google Speaker
Music6.2Videos/Movies5.7Podcasts6.2Voice Assistant8.3Outdoors4.9Battery PoweredNoSpeakerphoneYesVoice AssistantYesBluetoothYesWi-FiYesThe Google Nest Audio is the best Google speaker we've tested. It's a versatile choice suitable for listening to music at home, and it offers many cool features to make the most of the experience. With built-in Google Assistant, you can activate the speaker using only your voice, so you enjoy hands-free control right from the comfort of your couch. Thanks to the Google Home app, you can pair compatible speakers to spread audio throughout your home. Plus, the app has bass and treble adjustments to customize the speaker's sound.
That said, you may find that you don't need those customization features at all—after all, this speaker's sound quality is great right out of the box. With a clear and accurate reproduction of your favorite tunes, it's suitable for listening to various music genres, podcasts, and audiobooks. This speaker has a sleek design, so it blends right into your living room decor, and you can even choose between different color variants based on your preferences.
-
Best Cheap Google Speaker
Music5.6Videos/Movies4.9Podcasts6.4Voice Assistant8.3Outdoors4.9Battery PoweredNoSpeakerphoneYesVoice AssistantYesBluetoothYesWi-FiYesIf you're shopping on the cheap, the Google Nest Mini is worth considering. It's a smaller, more compact version of the Google Nest Audio, with a similar mesh-fabric wrapping for a matching look. Available in several different colors, you can also mount this wired speaker to your wall, which is handy. Built-in Google Assistant makes it easy to control the speaker with only your voice, and this model performs just as well as its larger counterpart when it comes to picking up your commands. You can mute it when you don't want it to hear you, which is nice.
Through the Google Home app, you can configure multiple Google speakers throughout your home, making it a great way to amplify audio across a larger space. Plus, you can use its bass and treble adjustments to switch up its sound. With built-in Chromecast, it's easy to stream your favorite music and podcasts from other Google devices. Of course, given its smaller size, this speaker doesn't bring as much rumble in the low bass as its larger counterpart, and it doesn't get quite as loud, but it's still a great alternative if you're looking to save space and money with your home speaker.
Compared To Other Brands
-
Built-in Google Assistant capabilities.
Google's speakers come with built-in voice assistant support for Google Assistant, which you can activate using your voice. You can also mute the speaker's microphone if you don't want Google Assistant to hear you. -
Pair together for Party Mode and Multi-Room features.
You can wirelessly pair multiple Google speakers in the Google Home app to amplify your audio across a crowded party or to simultaneously play different audio content in different rooms of your house. -
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi compatible.
Google speakers support Google Chromecast, which lets you wirelessly stream audio from other Chromecast-enabled devices to the speaker when connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Conveniently, their speakers also offer Bluetooth compatibility for those who prefer to stream their audio without an Internet connection.
-
Wired design isn't very portable.
The Google speakers we've tested are for home use, and their wired-only design means that you can't use them to listen to audio when you're on the go. -
No advertised dust or water resistance.
The Google speakers we've tested don't advertise an IP rating for dust or water resistance. As a result, be very careful if you plan to use them in a room with running water, like a kitchen. -
Some speakers lack low bass.
Due to their size, smaller Google speakers may have trouble reproducing the deep, thumpy low bass found in bass-heavy music and action-packed movie scenes.
Google vs Apple
Google's speakers are designed for easy integration with other tools in their ecosystem; naturally, Apple's speakers take a similar approach. You'll find Siri voice assistant instead of Google Assistant and Apple AirPlay capabilities instead of Chromecast built-in. However, Apple doesn't offer as many sound customization features as Google.
Google vs Amazon
Amazon and Google both manufacture wired smart speakers designed for in-home use. Their built-in voice assistants (Alexa and Google Assistant) allow you to control their devices hands-free. However, unlike Google, Amazon's more premium lineup includes support for the built-in Zigbee hub, which lets you control other smart home devices from their speakers.
Overall, Google makes wired-only smart speakers with lots of wireless connectivity options. They're compatible with other technologies in the Google ecosystem, including Google Assistant and Google Chromecast. Unlike other Bluetooth speakers on the market, they're for home use, and their wired-only design means they aren't suitable to bring with you on the go. However, since the Google Home Max was discontinued, the manufacturer has only two speakers on the market, both lacking the Max's built-in display.
Lineup
Like its competitors Amazon and Apple, Google's smart speaker lineup is limited to a few products.
- Nest Series: Wired smart speakers with sleek mesh-fabric designs; no built-in displays.
- Home Series: While the Google Home Max has been discontinued, this wired smart speaker stood out from the Nest series thanks to its design, which included a built-in display to monitor the speaker's status. We'll update this article if more products are released in this lineup in the future.
Recent Updates
-
We made small edits to the text for clarity and style but haven't changed our picks.
-
Aug 08, 2024: We've made minor changes to the text, but there any new Google speakers on the market since the last update. As a result, our picks haven't changed.
-
May 14, 2024: We've checked our picks, and they remain the same, as Google still only has two speaker products available.
-
Jan 22, 2024: We haven't tested any new Google speakers since our last update, and both speakers on our list are still available on the market. We verified the text but made no changes.
Conclusion
Google makes smart speakers for home use that support Google Assistant. You can easily pair multiple Google speakers together to enhance your listening experience and stream audio over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connections. However, they aren't for outdoor use and may struggle to reproduce a thumpy low bass.