Apple HomePod vs Google Home vs Home Max vs Amazon Echo 2nd gen: Feature & specs comparison

by Peter Kostadinov / Jan 24, 2018, 6:58 AM

Apple HomePod vs Google Home vs Home Max vs Amazon Echo 2nd gen: Feature & specs comparison

Apple's HomePod was announced more than half an year ago but is yet to arrive to the market. However, it seems that all this time couldn't help Apple come up with a finished product as the HomePod will be arriving without essential functionalities like stereo sound and multi-room audio at launch as these are reportedly coming later this year.

Needless to say, the competition did not sleep and had the chance to populate the market with a slew of many not half-bad smart speakers that fill the void Apple . Gadgets like the Google Home, Google Home mini, Google Home Max, and Amazon Echo 2nd-gen are already doing their mojo inside users' houses. Will the HomePod with its mediocre Siri assistant convince enough people to get one and use it in lieu of a Google- or Amazon-made ones which are powered by the more capable Google Assistant and Alexa?

But for anyone out there who hasn't got themselves a smart home gadget yet, there's only one way we can help, and that's by comparing all the features of the Apple HomePod, Google Home, and Amazon's latest Echo in tabular format.

	Apple HomePod	Google Home	Google Home Max	Amazon Echo 2nd gen
Dimensions	Diameter: 5.6" (142 mm) Height: 6.8" (172 mm) Weight: 5.5 lbs (2.5 kg)	Diameter: 3.79" (96.4 mm) Height: 5.62" (142.8 mm) Weight: 1.05 lbs (477 g)	Width: 13.2" (336.6 mm) Height: 7.4" (190.0 mm) Depth: 6.0" (154.4 mm) Weight: 11.7 lbs (5300 g)	Diameter: 3.3" (83.82mm) Height: 9.3" (236.22mm) Weight: 1.81 lbs (821 g)
Colors	Space Gray, White	White, Slate Fabric	Chalk, Charcoal	Charcoal Fabric, Heather Gray Fabric, Sandstone Fabric, Walnut Finish, Oak Finish, Silver Finish
Drivers	7X tweeters, 1X 4" subwoofer	2” driver + 2X 2” passive radiators	0.7" tweeter, 2X 4.5" subwoofers	0.6" tweeter, 2.5" subwoofer
On-board microphones	6, far-field voice recognition, spatial awareness	2	6, far-field voice recognition, spatial awareness	7, far-field voice recognition
Processor	Apple A8	1.5GHz 64-bit quad-core ARM® Cortex™ A53	1.5GHz 64-bit quad-core ARM® Cortex A53	MediaTek MT8163V/A
Smart assistant	Siri	Google Assistant	Google Assistant	Alexa
OS compatibility	iOS	Android, iOS	Android, iOS	Android, iOS, Fire OS
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Direct guest access, Bluetooth 5.0	Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz/5Ghz)	Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz/5Ghz), Bluetooth 4.2, Chromecast	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4GHz/5 GHz)
Supported music services	Apple Music, subscription required	YouTube, YouTube TV, Netflix, Google Play Music, Spotify, The CW, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, HBO NOW, CBS All Access, IFTTT, Rakuten Viki	YouTube, YouTube TV, Netflix, Google Play Music, Spotify, The CW, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, HBO NOW, CBS All Access, IFTTT, Rakuten Viki	Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, SiriusXM, Netflix, HBO Now, Sling, HULU
Supported audio formats	HE-AAC (V1), AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV, and FLAC	HE-AAC, LC-AAC+, MP3, Vorbis, WAV (LPCM), FLAC	HE-AAC, LC-AAC+, MP3, Vorbis, WAV (LPCM), FLAC, Opus	MP3, AAC, WAV, Vorbis, Opus, WAV (PCM)
IOT devices compatibility	HomeKit compatible, D-Link, ecobee, Elgato, First Alert, Honeywell, iDevices, iHome, Incipio, Kwikset, Leviton, LIFX, Logitech, Lutron, Nanoleaf, Philips Pure Gear, Schlage, etc...	Nest, Philips, WeMo, TP-Link, D-Link, Samsung SmartThings, LG, August, Insignia, Frigidaire Logitech, HoneyWell, etc.	Nest, Philips, WeMo, TP-Link, D-Link, Samsung SmartThings, LG, August, Insignia, Frigidaire Logitech, HoneyWell, etc...	C by GE, Honeywell, Lutron, Philips Hue, Ring, Schlage, Sengled, Sonos, TP-Link, Wink
Streaming devices support		Google Chromecast, Google Chromecast Audio, Vizio, B&O Play, Toshiba, Philips, Sony, Xiaomi, Nvidia Shield, Bang & Olufsen, etc...	Google Chromecast, Google Chromecast Audio, Vizio, B&O Play, Toshiba, Philips, Sony, Xiaomi, Nvidia Shield, Bang & Olufsen, etc...	Logitech, Sony,
Price	$349	$129	$399	$99

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8 Comments

1. surethom

Posts: 1730; Member since: Mar 04, 2009

You should also add Sonon One for Alexa & at some point Assistant.

posted on Jan 24, 2018, 7:34 AM 1

2. sgodsell

Posts: 7573; Member since: Mar 16, 2013

I love how PhoneArena paints Apples homepod IoT support. They list more things for Apples Homewood, but in reality right now both Google Home's and Amazon's Echo's support more home appliances and devices. Also the Nanoleaf works great with Google Home, so does the Ecobee devices that I have. Why are they not listed under the same category.