Google LLC’s premium smart home speaker — the Google Home Max — has finally gone on sale after launching in October.

The Google Home Max, a beefed-up version of the original Google Home, sports a pair of woofers with sound 20 times more powerful than the original. It also comes with a hefty price tag of $399, making it even more expensive than the HomePod, Apple Inc.’s own smart home speaker. But considering the HomePod won’t launch this month as planned, but rather early next year, Google is one step ahead in the premium smart home speaker market.

According to a report last month it, Google will expand its smart home business with a possible merger with its Nest Labs Inc. unit. That would allow Google to boost production and compete with Amazon.com Inc., the established and leader in the smart speaker market.

The Google Home Max is available for purchase at the Google Store, Best Buy, Verizon Wireless and Walmart in charcoal or chalk. Shipments will happen in a couple of days following orders, so it can still make it under the tree in time for Christmas. Currently, the Max is only available for purchase in the U.S.

Google Home Max setup

To set up the Google Home Max, plug it into the power outlet and it will automatically switch on. Download either the iOS or Android Google Home app onto your smartphone and accept the terms of service.

Sign in with your Google account and agree to turn on location services and location access. The app will scan for Google Home devices, tap Next when it finds the Google Home Max and it will connect your phone with the speaker. Select the Wi-Fi network and complete the rest of the setup process.

The rest of the setup process will allow you to teach the Assistant your voice, set up music and video services and more.

Google Home features

Powerful music speaker

The main feature of the Google Home Max is its powerful sound quality. It has two 4.5-inch woofers and two 0.7-inch tweeters. You can pair one Max with another, as well as with all other Chromecast Audio or Google Home products. You can use Bluetooth to pair your phone and play music, while the auxiliary port on the rear will allow you to connect it to a record player.

Google Home Max includes a feature called Smart Sound that uses artificial intelligence to adapt its sound based on where it is placed in a room. Smart Sound uses six internal microphones to measure the room’s acoustics and then adjusts the equalizer settings using machine learning.

Music partners include YouTube Music, Pandora, Spotify and Google Play Music. The top of the Google Home Max is a touch surface where you can control music volume and play or pause the music. You can also activate Assistant by pressing and holding, or simply say “Hey Google,” followed by the relevant voice command.

To set up a default music service, open the Google Home app > tap Menu > tap Music > tap the radio button next to the relevant music service. For Google Play Music and YouTube Red, accounts are linked automatically when you link your Google Account. For Spotify and Pandora you will need to link your account. Tap Link, sign into the music service and complete the process.

You can also stream video content to any TV that has Chromecast plugged in or built-in, with the ability to play, pause or adjust the volume. Currently, the Google Home Max can’t be used as a sound bar for your TV, but it is a highly requested feature that the company is exploring, according to Digital Trends.  

Control your smart home

Like Google’s other smart home speakers you can also control your other smart home appliances, including smart lights, thermostats, locks and plugs, as well as a Nest camera stream and the ability to run various IFTTT recipes.

Other features

Although the Max’s power feature is its music playback, it also includes all the other features offered by Google’s original Home speaker and Home Mini.

This functionality includes hands-free calling to contacts in the U.S. and Canada; personalized information for all members of the household thanks to Voice Match; hands-free shopping and adding of items to a shopping list; the ability to set and get reminders, alarms and timers; and calendar, weather, flight and traffic updates.

You can also get answers to various questions, including sport updates, translation and definitions of words, news updates, recipes and access to a calculator and unit conversion.

Images: Google