9 Differences Between Google Home vs HomePod

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Google Home vs HomePod – Overview

With innovations in technology, tech giants keep on releasing their new tech devices. A few years back, the only smart devices we had were smartphones.

In today’s market, we are blessed with a range of smart devices. We have smart home appliances, smart speakers, and many other smart devices.

If you plan to buy a new smart speaker, then here’s a detailed comparison between Google Home and Apple HomePod.

Why Compare Google Home vs HomePod?

Google Home and Apple HomePod are the best-selling smart speakers in the entire world. Being the products of the mega tech giants, both Google Home and Apple HomePod serve a set of similar features.

However, many uncommon features make these two smart speakers different from each other.

Before we jump on to the main comparison part of the popular smart speakers, let’s decode their key specifications and features from the comparison table given below.

Google Home vs Apple HomePod: Comparison Table

Key Specs	Google Home	Apple HomePod
Color Variants	Various colors	Black and White
Network Connectivity	Bluetooth 4.2	Bluetooth 5.0
OS Compatibility	iOS and Android	iOS
Supported Services	Google’s Services, YouTube Music, Chromecast Supports third-party music streaming apps	Apple’s Service, iMessage, iCloud, Apple Music. It supports third-party services through SiriKit
Virtual Assistant	Google’s own Google Assistant Flexible, easy-to-use, available in regional languages	Apple HomePod uses Siri, which is available in multiple languages but sometimes considered to have limitations compared to Google Assistant.
Sound Quality	Generally well-received, but it might struggle at high volumes, as mentioned	High-quality sound, including clarity and depth, even at high volumes
Support for Smart Home Appliances	Limited to a few brands	Limited to a few brands
Messaging	Does not directly support messaging apps for sending messages	Supports Apple’s iMessage and WeChat
Voice calls	Makes voice calls directly from the Speaker	Only transfer voice calls from iOS device to HomePod
Weight	477 grams	2.5 kg

The following comparison blog will help you decide which smart speaker is best for you and why should you invest in them. The blog includes points that let you pick the right smart speaker for your needs. Let’s get on to the main part.

Summary:

Based on your requirements, you can pick the right smart speaker for your home. Since both speakers serve similar features, you need to get deeper into the details.

We have differentiated their features, specifications, and everything in this article. Don’t miss out on anything listed here!

Google Home vs Apple HomePod

1. Virtual Assistant

Google is the first brand that introduced Smart Speakers to the world i.e. the Google Home. The Google Home is powered by Google’s own and the world’s most popular virtual assistant i.e. Google Assistant.

Google Assistant is a widely adopted virtual assistant as it is a product of Google and is well-compatible with Android-powered devices. It is easy to use and is available in several regional languages.

The Google Assistant works well with Android-powered smartphones and smart speakers including Google Home and the entire series of its smart speakers.

On the other hand, Apple’s HomePod works with Apple’s own, Siri Virtual Assistant. The Siri Virtual Assistant comes as a default voice assistant on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and other Apple devices.

Unlike Google Assistant, Apple’s Siri Assistant is not widely available as it is compatible with only Apple devices.

Besides this, using Siri is quite hectic compared to Google Assistant which is very user-friendly.

Winner: Google Assistant

2. Music Streaming

Smart Speakers don’t mean to entertain you and help you do your routine tasks just by using your voice commands. Both speakers receive regular updates with more and more compatibility, better features, and improved functions.

Google Home supports YouTube Music and other third-party music streaming services. Being a Google product, it doesn’t support Apple Music.

You can play and stream almost anything on Google Home with its built-in music compatibility. Just speak out your command and the speaker is ready with the answer.

Apple’s HomePod also supports multiple streaming services. It comes with built-in compatibility with Apple Music.

You can stream other services with the help of the AirPlay option on HomePod. Unlike Google Home, you won’t find many streaming services on HomePod.

Winner: Google Home

3. Sound Quality

Google’s Home supports all Google Home devices for multi-room streaming. You can synchronize multiple Google Home devices to play the same music in different locations of your house.

The sound quality of Google’s Home is moderated. You won’t be impressed with its sound quality if you are looking for high-quality sound from the speaker.

On the other hand, Apple’s HomePod gives you the best sound quality. The HomePod won the race in this category. The built-in Siri is quite sensitive as it can hear your voice command even if you play the music at a high volume.

Google Home has stereo speakers for high-quality volumes while Apple’s HomePod has a built-in sub-woofer for producing clear and high-quality audio.

Both devices come with noise-canceling microphones to recognize your voice commands.

Google Home has two built-in microphones while Apple’s HomePod has an array of microphones with six built-in microphones.

When it comes to recognizing your voice command, Apple’s HomePod is quite impressive with its six built-in microphones.

The HomePod throws a crystal clear and crisp sound. Just like Google Home, it can be synchronized with multiple HomePods for a seamless music experience.

The sound quality of the HomePod is pretty impressive!

Winner: Apple HomePod

4. Communication Features

Smart Speakers are not meant to play music only, but they are there to help you with your communication needs. Yes, you heard that right. With Smart Speaker, you can make voice calls and can send text messages without touching your smartphone.

Google Home supports direct call service. You can make a voice call to any of your contact numbers saved on your Google Account.

While setting up the Google Home device requires an active Gmail account. The device can fetch the contact numbers and contact names through your voice command to make a quick voice call.

The device doesn’t support any official messaging app; however, you can send text messages to your contacts by using an appropriate voice command.

If we talk about Apple’s HomePod, it is quite impressive as it can read and send text messages for you. The same feature is not present on Google’s Home.

The HomePod comes with built-in support for Apple’s iMessage and WeChat apps.

The HomePod doesn’t make direct voice calls. You can just transfer voice calls from your iOS device to HomePod as these devices are connected and are running on the same Wi-Fi connection and use the same Apple Id.

Winner: There’s a tie!

5. Support for Smart Home Appliances

We have numerous smart home devices and appliances from third-party manufacturers in the market. Starting from smart bulbs to smart TVs, refrigerators, and whatnot!

We can now make use of these smart appliances to control a single or, we can say, centralized hub using a smart speaker.

Being the industry’s first smart speaker, Google Home supports multiple smart home devices. Google Home supports Nest Thermostat, Chromecast, and many other devices.

The device comes with built-in support for Chromecast which means you can stream content through Google Home to your Television using your voice command.

Google Chromecast is also Google’s product, a popular online streaming device.

The list of compatible devices to Google Home is limited than other brands’ smart speakers. Google Home is limited to a couple of brands.

Apple’s HomePod works with Apple HomeKit to support smart home devices. The HomePod only supports Nest and Philips brands’ smart devices.

The list of compatible devices to HomePod is limited just like Google’s Home.

Both devices run smoothly and can control multiple smart home devices easily. The only thing you need to take care of is using the right voice command. 

Winner: There’s a tie!

6. Integration with Other Services

Both Google and Apple have their services designed for their devices. Google offers most of its services for free compared to Apple’s services.

The Google Home and Apple HomePod smart speakers come with built-in integration for using the supported services hassle-free.

Google Home smart speaker supports Google’s services, such as YouTube Music, Chromecast, and many more. The device doesn’t support any of Apple’s services.

Apple’s HomePod supports all the services offered by Apple such as iMessage, Apple Music, and iCloud. The device doesn’t support Google’s built-in services.

There’s a catch here when it comes to choosing the right smart speaker for you. If you own multiple Apple devices, then you should go with the Apple HomePod as it will help you to make the most of your other Apple devices.

Likewise, if you own multiple Android-powered devices or Chromebook laptops, then investing in Google’s Home is the best move for you.

Winner: Google Home

7. Variants

Google Home, Google’s smart speakers, come in different shapes and sizes. There are three different variants of this smart speaker designed to suit the requirements of different users.

You can buy the suitable variant as per the size of your room garage or office.

Besides Google Home, the same smart speaker has its compact version i.e., the Google Home Mini. The Home Mini smart speaker comes in four different color options.

The tiny smart speaker offers the same set of features as Google Home.

Apple’s HomePod is available in only one standard size and has two color variants i.e. Black and White.

The built quality of Apple’s HomePod is quite impressive and looks more premium than Google’s Home smart speaker.

Apple’s HomePod has its tiny edition like Google Home, the Apple HomePod Mini. The HomePod Mini recently got three new color editions with Blue, Orange, and Yellow colors with the already existing black and white color variants.

Since Google Home has different variants and shapes and affordable pricing, it’s a perfect choice for you if you are looking for versatility.

If you need quality sound, then investing in HomePod is good!

Winner: Google Home

8. Multi-user Support

Unlike mobile devices, the Smart Speaker comes with support for multiple users. This means you can allow other family members to integrate and set up their voices with the Smart Speaker.

If we talk about Google Home, the device supports up to six members which means it can recognize the voice commands of up to six people.

The smart speaker can work for individuals as per their requirements to avoid mixing up things. It can act as per your voice command and respond to your queries.

The only thing you might not like here is you can’t do some activities using your voice commands. You have to open up the computer system to delete things once set up on a Google Home device.

Apple’s HomePod has limitations when it comes to using the speaker and its features. The HomePod supports only one user or we can say only one device that was used to set up the HomePod for the first time.

Users can add notes and do other activities using the Voice Commands on Siri. Unlike Google’s smart speaker, Apple’s HomePod doesn’t support multi-users. You might not find Apple’s HomePod familiar due to its limitations.

Winner: Google Home

9. Connectivity Features

There are not many differences between the Google Home and Apple HomePod smart speakers if we talk about the list of their connectivity features. Both devices offer the same connectivity features.

Google Home uses an older version of Bluetooth for Wireless connectivity i.e. Bluetooth 4.2. Apple’s HomePod uses the latest version of Bluetooth i.e., Bluetooth 5.0. Both devices support Wi-Fi connectivity for wireless connections between devices.

Winner: Apple HomePod

Final Verdict:

Both the speakers are great and ideal for all types of users if we talk about their popularity and set of features.

They are designed to give you the best experience of using a smart speaker. However, a few features present on Google Home make it a clear winner here!

The reason why Google Home stands out here is its voice assistant. Google Assistant is a flexible and widely available service.

Moreover, the service is better than Apple’s Siri as it is available in regional languages and understands non-English languages well.

If quality music is what you need from a smart speaker, then Apple’s HomePod is a good choice for you. The build quality of the Apple HomePod is quite premium and made from metal.

Google Home is a great option for you if you are searching for a versatile smart speaker that also fits your budget!

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