Google Home

Far more ambitious than the Echo, this is the home-helper device for the Google generation

- Vaughn Highfield

There’s one reason for the GoogleHome’s existence: to help you out in the home. (Well, three reasons if you count Google reaching its tendrils into every corner of our lives and then making lots of money in the process.) It’s designed to be the hub of your family’s life, so you can stay on top of what’s going on while also answering those burning IMDB queries about that bit-part actor in Total Recall. It won’t mop your floors or clean your car, but it will let you know if your eldest has football practice after school tomorrow.

The cylinder in the room is the Amazon Echo. It’s a similar product aiming to do similar things, but it isn’t as well connected when it comes to smart home applications. Google Home, on the other hand, is designed from the ground up to be the beating heart of the home of the future, and while it’s great today it also has bags of potential – for instance, a future update means it will recognise up to six voices.

The G word

Google Home’s other big advantage is the Gword. Got a Gmail account? Google Home is for you. Use an Android phone? You’ll get something out of Google Home. Likewise if you use Google Calendar, Chrome, Drive, Docs, Play Music or YouTube.

Say, “Tell me about my day” and Home will pull all of your appointments from Gmail and Calendar, and even check the weather for you without you needing to ask separately. Assuming you were organised enough to enter the information in the first place, Home will tell you where your appointments are happening and give you a rough estimate of how long it will take to get there.

It’s so contextually aware (far more than Amazon Echo) that you will occasionally think there’s some sort of trickery going on in that air freshener shaped ornament.