Google has officially discontinued the Home Max smart speaker. The company has sold out of the product on the Google Store and is no longer manufacturing new units. It will continue providing support to existing devices though, at least for the foreseeable future.
Launched in December 2017, the Google Home Max and Mini marked the company’s expansion into the smart speaker market. The device debuted at a steep $399, which also included 12 months of YouTube Music. However, the price dropped quite regularly after launch and went to as low as $149 during Black Friday 2020. Google has now sold out of the last few units of the device and discontinued it.
“We’ve sold out of Google Home Max and will no longer be manufacturing the device,” the company said in a statement. “Existing Google Home Max users shouldn’t worry as they won’t see any change in their service. We’ll continue to offer software updates and security fixes to Google Home Max devices.”
Google discontinues the Home Max smart speaker
The Google Home Max is one big smart speaker, measuring 13.2 x 7.4 x 6.0 inches and weighing 11.7 pounds (5.3 kg). It features two 114mm high-excursion woofers and two 18mm custom tweeters. There is an AUX jack as well as six far-field microphones on this device.
Put aside the price and size, the Google Home Max is still more than a decent smart speaker. It is expectedly quite loud and supports stereo mode if you have two units (that’s nearly $800! at launch). Software-enabled features such as Smart Sound, which adjusts the equalizer to the current environment, make for high-quality sound in all surroundings.
Google, however, is now retiring Home Max in favor of newer audio products. “We’re committed to delivering great sound and whole-home audio features across all of our Assistant-enabled products,” the company said. “With the launch of Nest Audio, we’re offering a range of great home audio solutions, particularly with two Nest Audios paired for stereo sound.”
The Nest Audio launched in September for just $99.99. Pairing two units to run in stereo mode will cost you $200, which is still half the introductory price of a single Home Max device. Of course, you won’t be getting the same levels of loudness as the Home Max, but the newer device is more portable, and cheaper. The Nest Audio also misses out on an AUX input, though.
Although Google has sold out of the Home Max on the Google Store, it is still available in select third-party stores such as BuyDig and Verizon. But since Google is no longer manufacturing the product, they may run out of stock permanently any time now. If you’re interested though, the Google Home Max is a $179 buy right now.