Last Updated on March 11, 2021 by Filip Poutintsev
Google Assistant Speaker is a smart speaker developed by Google. It is also known as Google Nest, previously named as google home. It works with the help of Google Assistant, an artificial intelligence, and Google’s virtual-powered assistant.
Google Assistant Speaker enables users to interact with speakers through the use of the voice. It is in-built with the interactive voice response technology that works via voice command of users and provides them with a significant service through Google Assistant.
In November 2016, Google released its first original Google Assistant Speaker known as Google Home in the United States. Gradually, it got released globally from 2017-2019.
History of Google Assistant Speakers
After Amazon introduced Amazon Echo in 2014, Google was also planning to manufacture a wireless speaker to compete against it. So, the company finally launched Google Home, a Google Assistant Speaker in 2016. Gradually, in the same year, it was launched in the UK, Canada, France, Australia, Germany, Japan and was able to have global recognition.
In October 2017, Google officially announced Google Home Mini, a smart speaker similar to Google Home but comparatively smaller and less expensive. Google Home Mini got launched on October 19, 2017. However, Google was too keen to amaze its customers with variance in the product, So the company also launched Google Home Max on December 11, 2017, that is a bit larger and more expensive compared to its previous products.
On April 10, 2018, Google Home and Google Mini got released in India. After launching various products of Google Assistant Speakers, Google Home had undergone a name change. Google Assistant speakers manufactured newly falls under Google Nest’s category. The Google Nest Hub got released on August 26, 2019, including Google Nest Hub Max and Google Nest Mini. All these smart speakers are built-in with Google Assistant.
The voice used n Google Assistant Speakers is the voice of Kiki Basell, an American woman and same actress for Google Voice mail System since 2010. On October 11, 2019, Google added an option voice on its google assistant of Issa Rae, which could be enabled by saying “Okay Google, talk like Issa”. The market share of Google Assistant Speakers in 2019 was 31.4 per cent per share. It is in a google competition with Amazon Alexa.
Pros of Google Assistant Speakers
1) Aesthetic in Design
Google Assistant Speakers are great in design. It is small in size and is customizable. These Speakers have a colour variance that matches your decor and also doesn’t stand out or look like just a speaker. The minimalist design of Google Assistant Speaker is surprisingly attractive and beautiful.
2) Hands-Free Calling
Since it is in-built with an interactive voice response technology, Google Assistant Speakers make calls to any number you would want to call if it’s in your Google contact. It just needs a voice command then the job gets done.
3) Knows Your Voice
Google Assistant Speakers can recognize your voices and is capable of telling who you are once you have done a setup. Similarly, it also can recognize the voice of different members in your family and will often get personalized results. You can link up to 6 member’s voice to the speaker.
4) Multiple Languages
Google Assistant Speakers can talk in Japanese, English, French, German, Italian. Google Assistant on phone and tablet has more language variation. Recently, it got updated with more languages like Dutch, Portuguese, and Indonesian. It helps people who have difficulty understanding and speaking English.
5) A Good Companion
Google Assistant Speakers are aware of various contexts and can answer your questions. If you question what the temperature is today or anything about weather, dates, time. It tells you about it. It can also access millions of facts from google and can answer any questions.
6) Builds Social Connection
These speakers make you feel connected with your loved ones, even when you can’t be together. It has new features that make connecting easier with high-quality videos with ultra-low bandwidths. The calls are end to end encrypted that make secure and reliable calls.
7) Make Your Life Easier like Easy Cooking
If you want to try and cook something new, then Google Home Assistants will make your work easier. It can easily guide you with different recipes by giving step by step indications.
8) Supports Google Play and YouTube Music
You can enjoy your YouTube Music and Google Play service from Google Assistant Speakers. It also offers player controls such as unlimited songs skips and replay. YouTube music premium plays music from YouTube Music App in the background. It also allows you to download your favourite music and play offline.
Cons of Google Assistant Speaker
1) Requires Internet Connection
It needs an active internet connection to work. You need to connect your Google Assistant Speaker to your Wi-Fi before playing music, connecting devices, and so on. However, if your Wi-Fi connectivity is low, then using these speakers might be a problem.
2) Mediocre Sound Quality
The sound quality and audio performance of Google Assistant Speaker slacks off when putting against its competitors like Apple, Home Pod, or Amazon Echo. Many customers mentioned that sound above 70% seems distorted. The speaker is not as loud as expected in full volume. However, Sonos One, one of the Google Assistant Speakers, is believed to have a decent sound quality for its size.
3) Only a Few Control Buttons
Compared to its competitors, Google Assistant Speakers don’t have much control buttons. It has at the top of it and has a sensor to control volume, which can be fiddly at times. It has a sensor to control the volume on the top, which can be fiddly at times. All other customizations and tweaking need to be done through a connected mobile device which can be frustrating sometimes. Also, these Google Assistant Speakers do not understand or read your voice when something is being played in high volume.
4) Must Be Plugged-In
These speakers need to get plugged-in to work. It doesn’t have a battery to operate which technically defies the whole idea of portability. Also, since Google is all about making aesthetic devices, a plug sticking out of a device doesn’t look as good as some of the smart speakers that run on battery or charge wirelessly.
Conclusion
So the question now is, should you get a Google Assistant Speaker? Well, you can consider getting one as it has amazing features and makes daily things much more convenient. Especially if you don’t want to fall under the apple ecosystem, Google Assistant Speakers would be a great asset to your smart home system.
Also, you will not have to fear of your device getting outdated as most of the new features come with a software update. Most importantly, the convenience it provides in a smart home is unparalleled.
