Google’s $399 Home Max speaker goes on sale

Unveiled in October, Google announced Monday that its Home Max wireless speaker with built-in Assistant is now available in the US from electronics retailer Best Buy, carrier Verizon., retailer Walmart and Google’s own webstore.

Best Buy is accepting Google Home Max orders with an optional next-day delivery option for those who’d like to buy one now and have it delivered tomorrow.

Priced at $399, the device is $50 more expensive than Apple’s upcoming HomePod. Sweetening the deal, each Home Max purchase comes with a free 12-month subscription to YouTube Red, which includes an ad-free YouTube Music subscription.

The smart speaker was originally set to arrive on December 11, but Google has decided to move up the launch, likely in order to exploit HomePod’s delay to its advantage.

Available in two distinct colors—Chalk and Charcoal—the accessory sports a pair of custom 0.7-inch tweeters and dual 4.5-inch high-excursion woofers that offer room-filling sound, with a Smart Sound feature analyzing the room and adjusting automatically for optimal sound.

According to Google’s description:

Google Home Max sounds pretty amazing right out of the box because it’s our first speaker with Smart Sound. Powered by Google’s artificial intelligence (AI), Smart Sound means Max can automatically adapt itself based on where it’s placed in the room. There’s no extra setup or testing required. Even if you move Max from one spot to another, it’ll continuously tune itself to the room, so your music will sound one step closer to the studio.

Like many other smart speakers, Home Max lets you stream music from apps like YouTube Music, Pandora and Spotify, talk to your Google Assistant, manage smart home accessories, set reminders and do other things with just your voice.

Here are the key feature highlights:

  • Built for premium sound: Google Home Max has two 4.5-inch high-excursion woofers that’ll deliver deep, powerful bass. And Max is loud…really loud. It’s 20 times more powerful than Google Home, so it will fill any room in your home with amazing audio.
  • More music: Max allows you to use your voice to control popular services like Spotify Free and Premium, YouTube Music, Google Play Music or Pandora, and with Chromecast built in, you can cast from your phone from many more services. For all of your other music and devices, Max has support for both Bluetooth® and aux-in. Plug in your record player and dust off your vinyl.
  • Your very own DJ: With the Google Assistant built in, Max is always ready to start your favorite song, pause or turn it up, all with just your voice. Can’t quite remember that name of that famous holiday favorite? Your Assistant can find it with just a few small details. Just ask, “Hey Google, play that song that goes, ‘Chestnuts roasting…’” Or too early for Christmas tunes? Just ask, “Ok Google, play ‘Discover Weekly’ from Spotify’” (for some playlists, you might need a subscription).
  • Designed for your home: Google Home Max was designed to be versatile and seamlessly blend in with your home’s decor. You can stand it up vertically or place it horizontally to fit in your space. It’s available in two colors, Chalk and Charcoal, and was made with beautiful yet durable fabric, developed from scratch to allow your music to be heard without distortion.
  • Turn it up: With Max’s integrated far-field microphones and speech recognition technology, it can hear you from across the room, even when your music is blasting.
  • Multi-room: Group all of your Google Home devices through the Google Home app and get your favorite holiday playlist going in every room. You can even wirelessly pair two Maxes together for stereo sound.
  • Control your smart home: Make premium sound the center of your smart home. Google Home Max works with more than 150 home automation brands and more than 1,000 devices—including Nest, Belkin Wemo and Philips Hue. Plus, Google Home Max can complete two tasks at once. If you have a compatible smart plug, try saying, “Hey Google, turn on the Christmas tree and play Jingle Bells.”

The AI-powered audio accessory is compatible with iOS.

The device can be used horizontally or vertically.

It also supports wireless stereo pairing and multi–room grouping using Home Max along with Home Home Mini or a speaker with Chromecast Audio plugged in.

Are you interested in Google’s new speaker?

Let us know down below in the comments section.