Smart speakers continue to grow in popularity, but Google is discontinuing one of its first. The Google Home Max is no longer being manufactured and the Google Store has none left.
As Engadget reports, Google confirmed the Home Max is no longer being made, meaning whatever stock is left at retailers around the world are the last new units available. The Home Max launched back in late 2017 and was seen as the first smart speaker with a focus on serious audio performance. It wasn't cheap, though, costing $399, but has seen some heavy discounting recently.
When PCMag reviewed the Google Home Max, we found a smart speaker offering great sound quality, an attractive design, and liked the ability to use it as a mono speaker, stereo pair, or as part of a whole home audio system. It did have too much bass for audio purists, though, and the lossless audio options could have been better.
Existing owners have no need to worry about the future of their Home Max. Google said, "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. We're committed to delivering great sound and whole home audio features across all of our Assistant-enabled products."
There's plenty of other smart speaker options available, with Google launching a Nest Audio smart speaker for music lovers earlier this year. It only costs $99, a quarter of what the Home Max sold for, while offering clear and detailed sound coupled with great Google Assistant integration.