For Black Friday 2020, Google is selling its top-of-the-line smart speaker for half off. Google Home Max is just $150 right now, but should you buy the three-year-old speaker?
Google Home Max first launched in 2017, making it the oldest smart speaker Google currently sells without a newer model available. At a normal price of $299, it’s also the most expensive speaker that Google has ever sold. How does it compare?
As we looked at it earlier this year, Google Home Max is still by far the best-sounding speaker in Google’s lineup. It offers deep bass, loud sound, and crisp audio quality. Even compared to the company’s latest release, the Nest Audio, it’s just a better overall device.
However, Google Home Max is also over three years old at this point. It’s definitely due for a successor, but Google has been silent on that happening. So, is Home Max still worth it in 2020? Let’s weigh it all out.
Google Home Max will be supported for the forseeable future
Starting with the positives, if you’re looking to buy a Google Home Max during its Black Friday blowout sale, you won’t be wasting your money. Google has not disabled a single Assistant speaker to date after discontinuing it, even looking at short-lived third-party speakers. General Assistant functionality will surely continue to work on Home Max for the forseeable future.
Even if/when Assistant does stop working on the Home Max, the speaker can still be used over Bluetooth, delivering its excellent audio quality without the smart features.
Home Max probably won’t get any new, major features
The one thing worth noting, though, is that Home Max likely won’t get any major new features. Google rolls out features for Assistant speakers in general on regular basis and those features will probably still work on Max, but features specific to this device are probably done at this point.
One example of this could be the upcoming option to use Assistant speakers as a “soundbar” in conjunction with a Chromecast with Google TV. It’s possible that Google could bring this to Home Max, but it also seems like this might be exclusive to only the newer Nest Audio. If you’re buying a Home Max in 2020, just buy it based on what it can do today, not what other speakers will be able to do in the future.
This speaker will probably be replaced in the next year or two
Lastly, let’s just remember the simple fact that if Google has a replacement for Home Max in the pipeline, it’ll surely be released in the next year or two. So far, there’s no evidence this is happening, but next year’s set of Google events could bring us a surprise! Given Google’s heavy focus on better audio in the Nest Mini and Nest Audio, it only makes sense to release a successor to the speaker that sounds better than both of those combined. This is especially important as the competition continues to heat up.
Should you buy Google Home Max this Black Friday?
For most people, a $150 Google Home Max is an absolute steal. It’s a phenomenal speaker and this price point makes it tempting for everyone. There’s little reason to worry about the speaker’s future, either, so as long as it fits your needs, it’s probably a safe buy!
If you want to get in on the Google Home Max Black Friday sale, the speaker is available for $150 at multiple retailers. Stay tuned to 9to5Toys as well for more on Black Friday 2020.
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