The Google Home is a great entry-point into the smart speaker market, and it has already overtaken Amazon's Echo in terms of capabilities. While it isn't perfect, it is still a great entry-level smart speaker. It has many features and bugs.
The original Google Home (about $130): This model has proved to be one of the best-value speakers in its category. It's a good alternative to the more expensive Amazon Echo and it also comes with an interesting feature that other smart speakers don't have: it can play audio from your phone via WiFi.
It also has a large song collection, so it can play almost any song from YouTube Music or Google Play Music. You can stream audio from any connected device directly to your Google Home.
Sound Quality
It has a 2-inch driver, and dual 2-inch passive radiators. This provides good stereo imaging and crisp, punchy bass. It's surprisingly thumpy for a small speaker, and it can fill a bedroom or kitchen with sound.
The speaker has many other features that will make your life easier. You can also use the app for managing these. You can muffle the microphone to make it quieter, or create groups of devices that can be controlled using one voice command.
A separate audio equalizer allows for you to tweak the bass as well as the treble. Although it isn't the best equalizer, it does a good job in adapting to different situations and rooms.
This is especially useful when controlling background music and ambient sound. It is ideal for podcasts and audiobooks as it can adjust spoken word content to a more natural level.
Sound Quality: This is a big step up from the original Google Home, and it's better than what you'll find in many other smart speakers. Its mid-range is balanced and it has a good amount of detail in the low-end.
The higher-pitched instruments and vocals can sound a little flat at times. Also, it is difficult to hear the full impact if you listen at high volumes. While the treble may not be as smooth as some speakers, it is not harsh.
The speaker comes with a microphone which picks up the voice quite well. It also has an app that allows you to adjust the volume and treble. Ambient IQ adjusts the volume to match the surrounding environment.
Voice Recognition
Although it doesn't have the same accuracy as Alexa or Google Assistants, it can still understand your words. It can answer your questions about weather, traffic, sports and can even show you your calendar.