I absolutely LOVE Google Home. We are going to purchase the larger one and more of the smaller one for gifts

Google finally announced the intelligent smart speaker Google Home, which features Google's own AI Assistant. The smart speaker is head-on with rivals from the industry, namely the old player Alexa-assisted Echo from Amazon and the recently announced Siri-assisted HomePod by Apple.

The future is coming, and fast. There was a time when we would imagine having a robot or an assistant that would do what we ask them to. These were things that existed only in sci-fi movies. But present technology has brought JARVIS from Iron Man to life… Well, almost.

At first I was regretting it (not knowing what it could really do) but with time I got to learn all the features it has and now I use it multiple times per day. Really good for its price although not all features are available in NZ yet, Change the region to English US if you want all the latest...

Is Google Home worth buying Yes… so long as you're not expecting it to change your world

Great Design; Excellent Voice Recognition; Constantly Evolving Skill Set; Connects With LOADS of Third-Party Devices; Easy To Use; Great Price

Sound Isn't Great; No Call Functionality In UK Just Yet

It was only a matter of time before Google came out with something to compete with the Amazon Echo: After all, Google too has deep experience with both voice commands and search. Indeed, one of the things we like best about the new Google Home hub is how it responds to conversational inquiries --...

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

Does two decades of search experience give Home the upper hand over Amazon Echo? In terms of search results, yes. But is it the better product? Not always. Home might be better looking, but it's not as well-rounded... yet.

Good-looking design will integrate anywhere around the home; Touchpanel controls; Future potential is great; In-depth conversational and search-based results; Supports up to six users

Less third-party app support than Amazon Echo; Assistant doesn't sound as good as Amazon Alexa; Microphone pick-up limited when music is playing

The Google Home wasn't the first smart speaker on the scene, but don't let that put you off. While the Amazon Echo family of devices is now into its second generation, Google hasn't bothered to update the Home's design; the recently added Google Home Mini doesn't really count.

Great design; Decent sound; Reasonable price point; Conversational assistant; Easy setup

Limited smart home compatibility; Speaker isn't very loud; Needs to be plugged in at all times

A lot better at processing natural language

Still work in progress

The smart home arena is getting even more crowded, with Apple's barrel-shaped HomePod speaker on the horizon. Once the Siri-powered device lands in February, expect a three-horse race between Google Home, the Amazon Echo and the HomePod, all competing for shelf space in your living room.