Amazon Echo Dot Max vs Google Home Speaker

Small smart speakers have been around for a long time, but needs have changed. Gone are the days of super-cheap speakers built solely for voice feedback; people now expect quality audio performance first and foremost. And, with GenAI-powered voice assistants now commonplace, these speakers need to do more.

The two main competitors are the Amazon Echo Dot Max (powered by Alexa+) and the Google Home Speaker (powered by Google Gemini Home). We’ve tested both hands, so here’s how they compare.

Design

• Both are compact, good-looking speakers
• The Echo Dot Max makes all of its controls easy to reach
• Google uses captive power cable

Both speakers are compact, shelf-ready models that cost the same: $99£99. Both are similar in size and look very similar, too, with metal mesh on the outside. Echo Dot Max is available in three colors (graphite, amethyst and glacier white); the Google Home Speaker is available in porcelain, hazel, jade and berry (although only the first two are available in the UK).

Amazon has placed its controls front and center, with volume and mute controls all easy to reach. Google is a little trickier, and has tap controls: top to play/pause or stop feedback, and either side to turn volume down or up. The Google Home platform switch is a little harder to reach, hidden in the background.

Amazon uses a standard power adapter for its speaker, but Google has a detachable cable that plugs into USB-C. I prefer a detachable cable, just in case it gets damaged.

Both have status lights that change color based on what the speaker is doing.

Winner: Draw

Features

• Alexa+ can process PDFs and handle voice-created paths; Home Gemini can’t do either.
• Echo Dot Max detects presence with ultrasound and responds to even a whisper; The Google Home Speaker doesn’t have the same sensor.

Alexa+ is the most successful voice assistant: it’s natural to talk to her, she can create routines, book restaurants, and extract data from photos and PDFs.

Google Gemini Home is a bit more basic: it handles standard requests well, but it’s slow to respond, can’t handle PDFs, sometimes responds in a way that doesn’t make sense, and can be automated.

When it comes to small touches, Alexa + is also ahead. For example, Alexa+ will remember facts and use them to fine-tune its responses, and it can respond in whispers when you whisper a request.

The main area where Google Gemini Home wins is local business search. Alexa+ information is out of date, but Google is pulling the latest information. Unfortunately, Gemini lacks advanced features, such as the ability to make restaurant reservations; Alexa+ can do this with its OpenTable integration.

Winner: Amazon Echo Dot Max

Sound Quality

• The Echo Dot Max uses a dedicated tweeter and woofer combo, while the Google Home Speaker relies on a single 58mm full-width driver.
• Google Home Speaker brings omnidirectional sound to the room; The sound of the Echo Dot Max is excellent
• The Google Home Speaker excels in Spotify High quality, while the HomePod mini, a competitor, supports Lossless, raising the bar for Google’s unmatched streaming.

The Echo Dot Max pairs a 0.8-inch tweeter with a 2.5-inch woofer, and it’s a neat combination. The sound is clean, well-balanced, and handles bass-heavy tracks, like Rage Against the Machine’s Bomb Track. This speaker won’t rock the room, but it holds its own. It also supports lossless Spotify audio.

The Google Home speaker has omnidirectional sound, and fills the room naturally, and can handle heavy bass tracks. The catch is that it climbs over quiet things, and starts to struggle with anything aggressive. Lossless Spotify audio is not supported.

Neither one gives you true stereo separation from a single unit, but eitehr can be used as part of a stereo pair. The Echo Dot Max wins this round because its two-driver setup sounds clean and consistent throughout a wide mix of music.

Winner: Amazon Echo Dot Max

Smart Home Integration

• The Echo Dot Max includes both Zigbee and Thread hubs; The Google Home speaker is only wired.
• The Echo Dot Max adds ultrasound presence detection that automatically triggers Cycles, a feature the Google Home speaker completely lacks.
• Google Home Speaker’s Gemini assistant can’t create routines via voice, while the Echo Dot Max supports voice-initiated Routine setup.

The Google Home Speaker is a Thread border router with Matter support, so you can connect modern devices to it directly. The Echo Dot Max is similar, but it also has a Zigbee radio, temperature sensor and ultrasound presence detection built in, making it easy to use as part of a routine.

Alexa+ can make routines with voice commands, but Gemini does not have this ability. Both can handle complex commands well, such as asking to unlock multiple different devices in one sentence.

Winner: Amazon Echo Dot Max

Price

Echo Dot Max packs an amazing amount of smart home hardware for its price: Zigbee, Series, Story, temperature sensor, and ultrasound presence detection.

Google Speaker costs the same but its hardware is a touch more limited.

Overall, the Gemini Home beats the Google Home speaker, and the combination of the Echo Dot Max and Alexa+ is the best.

Winner: Amazon Echo Dot Max

Comparison of features

Final thoughts

If you want a smart home hub, a capable voice assistant, and really decent sound, the Echo Dot Max is the best choice. It has smart home hardware, including built-in Zigbee, Thread, and Matter; Alexa + is better where it counts; and the sound quality is slightly better.

The Google Home Speaker has great hardware, and it’s nice to have Thread and Matter support and decent audio. Unfortunately, Google Gemini Home lets you down.