First look at Google Home, the Amazon Echo killer

The first thing you notice about Google's Amazon Echo killer is how small it is. The second is that it actually looks pretty good. 

In fact, Google Home, which isn't much taller than the company's larger Pixel phone, looks better than most Bluetooth speakers and far better than Amazon's Echo. It's sleek and mostly white, though it comes with swappable bases. If it weren't for the LED lights that look like patterns for Google Assistant, you could easily forget it's a Google product. 

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There is only one button on Google Home, a mute button on the back that stops its always-on listening. Everything else, however, is controlled via the touchpad on top of the speaker or through voice commands, which you initiate by saying "OK Google."

The speaker itself has a range of about 10 to 15 feet, according to Google, so its mics should be able to cover most medium-sized rooms, though I didn't get a chance to test it out at a distance. The touchpad on top controls the volume and music playback and you can also hold it down to say a command if you don't feel like saying "OK Google." 

The speaker gets surprisingly loud for its size. The demo space wasn't exactly quiet but the speaker didn't sound underpowered. I'm not an audiophile by any means but the music played through Google Home sounded at least as good (if not better) than the Amazon Echo.

Additionally, if you have a soundbar or other speaker setup you already like, you can connect it to Google Home via a Chromecast Audio (the speaker doesn't support Bluetooth). This could be a decent workaround for those who want the convenience of Google Home without giving up their existing speaker. 

Image: JASON HENRY/MASHABLE

The brains of the speaker are powered by Google Assistant, the same software baked into Google's new Pixel phones and its messaging app Allo. And you can use many of the same commands with Google Home as you can with the Assistant in other products. 

Google Home can provide calendar and flight info, news headlines, sports scores, translations, directions and answers to simple queries like "When is the sunrise?" or "How old is the president of the United States?" 

But Google stopped short of integrating all of its services into it. For example, it can scan your inbox for flight information but it can't read you your emails (at least, not yet). It can tell you about what's on your calendar but can't add a new event to it. Some of this will likely change over time but I could easily see how it could get frustrating to not have access to more of your Google services.

Image: JASON HENRY/MASHABLE

Home will also work with third-party services, though Google has only announced a handful so far, including Spotify, Pandora, IFTTT and Phillips. This too will likely ramp up in the coming months once the device goes on sale. 

But, at $129, Google Home looks to be a more than able Amazon Echo competitor. As good as the Echo is, it's far easier to make the case for having access to Google search and services in your home than Amazon shopping (as convenient as it is).

And, unlike Google's Pixel phones, it comes at a price that will be hard to beat.