Google Home review: Assisting you with voice

Google finally announced the intelligent smart speaker Google Home, which features Google’s own AI Assistant. The smart speaker is headon with rivals Echo and HomePod. Three speakers produce a good amount of bass and highs while keeping the mids healthy too. The top is entirely capacitive for activating voice commands and adjusting the volume with touch. Round multicoloured LEDs on top change colour according to the action being performed.

Setting up the device is fairly simple, but can be a bit tricky. The Google Home app is needed to install the speaker on your network. External services that can be linked include Entertainment, Sports, News, Traffic, and others.

Once set, all you need to do is initiate a conversation command by using the keywords

‘ OK Google’ or ‘ Hey Google.’ Since the AI is developing at each phase, you will initially find that the speaker is not able to service all of your queries. The selflearning intelligence will improvise in time, personalising itself for you. Kids can benefit a lot — younger ones can have a talking companion, answer questions and play games, while older kids can get help with school projects and more.

The speaker has even more uses — creating

a smart home. Link up compatible home automation devices to your network and can control almost every appliance in your house. Routines allows to do multiple jobs with a single command — for example, set up a nighttime routine, say ‘ OK Google, Goodnight’ and the system can automatically set the alarm, turn off the lights, give you your next day’s or morning schedules, adjust your thermostat or air conditioner and a lot more. The audio from the Google Home is very clear and loud. Sadly no 3.5mm jack here. The speaker has sufficient bass and treble that can be adjusted using the app. Assistant’s voice is clear, but she sounds a bit more robotic, unlike Alexa which has a softer, fluent and more humanlike voice. Sadly, there’s no way to slow down Assistant’s pace too — the voice feedback seems to be too quick.

If you are looking for a voice- based assistant that can cater to simple to complex needs for your home or office and also for your family, the Google Home is presently the best out there. The Google Home is presently available for 9,999, while the Mini is available for 4,499.