Google Home
If you're an Android user, or a fan of Google's services, the regular Google Home is the best smart speaker you can get.
Its hardware is comparable to the Amazon Echo: It's 5.5-inches tall, has a pair of 2-inch speakers and 2-inch radiators, and microphones to listen to your voice queries. But it pulls ahead of its competition by using all of Google's data to do things like on-the-fly translations, reminding you about upcoming events in your Google Calendar, and telling you what time local businesses open or close. These features can make your life easier on a daily basis.
The Home also integrates seamlessly with Google's Chromecast, so you can ask the Home to play music or videos from YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, Spotify, or Pandora on your TV.
If you're shopping for a small-but-mighty smart home hub, and mostly use Google's tech and services, the Google Home is an excellent choice at this price.
Google Home Hub
The Google Home Hub is the only Google Home with a screen, and that difference makes it even more helpful than any of its siblings. If you use Google services, the Home Hub is the easiest hands-free way to access Google Maps or YouTube.
If you ask the Home Hub questions using the Google Assistant, it will present your answer visually, which can be a lot more useful than just hearing the reply. For instance, asking about the weather will show you a six-day forecast; asking about your schedule will bring up a full list of your upcoming events; asking for directions or about your commute, will show the optimal route on Google Maps.
You can also use the Home Hub's screen to stream videos from popular services like Netflix from your phone or tablet because it has a Chromecast built into it. You can also ask the Google Assistant to play videos from YouTube, including the latest uploads from channels you've subscribed to.
When it's idle, the Hub will turn into a digital picture frame, cycling through pictures you've uploaded in Google Photos, so it's even useful when you're not using it.
Its 7-inch screen is less than HD in resolution, but if you can get over that and want a powerful, inexpensive smart home hub with a screen, the Home Hub is your best choice.
Google Home Max
The Google Home Max almost never goes on sale, which is a shame because it's the best-sounding smart speaker I've ever tested.
It has two 4.5-inch woofers and 0.7-inch tweeters, which create a sound that's not too bass or treble heavy, so you can enjoy every genre of music. When put on its side, the Max plays music in stereo, which makes it stand out from every other smart speaker. Even Apple's HomePod can't do that — you have to buy two of them for stereo sound.
The Max is also the most versatile smart speaker for music lovers. It has a 3.5mm aux input, so you can plug in a turntable or TV, and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, so you can wirelessly connect your mobile devices. That means you can use one speaker with all of your devices. Compare that to the Amazon Echo, which only sounds OK, and the HomePod, which only works with Apple devices and iTunes on Windows.
Its hardware and connectivity make the Google Home Max a complete home theater system in a single package. Any music lover who's looking to start or expand their smart home should take advantage of this deal.
