Google officially retires Home Max speaker

Source: Google

Google's original large smart speaker is going away. The company confirmed with Engadget that it would no longer manufacture the Home Max, and the last few units on the Google Store have already been sold. But existing users can still expect to see support for the foreseeable future. Google doesn't plan to end support for the Home Max or the original Google Home speaker. The company said, "We're committed to delivering great sound and whole home audio features across all of our Assistant-enabled products."

It makes sense for Google to halt manufacturing for its old speaker as the new Nest Audio speakers are similarly priced and deliver similar, if not, better audio quality.

Big Audio Dynamite: The Google Home Max Review

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

One of the more interesting segments in consumer electronics is the smart speaker market. Smart speakers are exciting because they are a culmination of various intersecting technologies. You have cloud computing, A.I., voice assistants and you also have audio technology.

Watching the smart speaker segment progress is like watching an intense chess game with each speaker release quickly countering a rival's previous move. One opponent releases an Amazon Echo, Google counters with Google Home. Amazon introduces the Echo Dot, Google rolls out the Google Home mini. Sonos unveils Sonos One, Apple drops the HomePod. What's more surprising is that none of these products were available three years ago.

Google's Home Max is a two-move checkmate, it follows the small and affordable Google Home mini and the original Google Home with a large format, hifi-focused smart speaker. I have been using the Google Home Max for close to four weeks as the main music source in my bedroom. Here's my review.

Click to read more ...