Google has another web-connected speaker to join its family of Google Home speakers.
The search giant revealed its new Google (GOOG) Home Max speaker during its Pixel media event Wednesday in San Francisco. A larger version of its flagship Google Home speaker, Google Home Max was designed to emphasize sound quality, like Apple’s (AAPL) rival HomePod web-connected speaker.
Rishi Chandra, head of the Google Home hardware team, said the the new Home Max speaker was designed to play bass-heavy tunes that “move a lot of air.” He said it is twenty times louder than the Google Home speaker.
One of the biggest features of the new Google Home Max is that it can automatically project sound in the most appealing ways regardless of where the speaker is placed in a house, Chandra said.
For example, sound vocals can sound muddy if a speaker is placed on a shelf against the wall. Chandra said that the Google Home Max was designed to recognize where it has been placed, and then adjust the settings so that songs are projected clearly to match its location.
Big help meets big sound. Meet Google Home Max. Coming soon. Pic.twitter.com/aPIokEP6AH
— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) October 4, 2017
The speaker can be placed either vertically or horizontally on nightstands or tables, and was designed to work with the voice-activated Google Assistant so that people can ask it to play songs, much like the company’s other Home family of speakers.
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The Google Home Max will cost $400 when it goes on sale in December. It will come in chalk white and charcoal black, and will support streaming music services like Spotify, YouTube Music, and Pandora. However, it doesn’t appear to support Apple Music at this time.
Google also introduced a potential rival to the Amazon Echo Dot in the form of the Google Home Mini, a pint-size version of the original Google Home module.
