Black Friday 2016 Australia: Google provides direct deal for Google Home, its bet against the Amazon Echo

When Google introduced Google Home, the Amazon Echo finally had a worthy competitor. The newer smart speaker arrived with its own set of features and a modern design -- and Black Friday is offering them at a great deal.

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Normally sold at US$129 (AU$175), Google Home will be available for just US$99 (AU$135) during Black Friday. And while the deal is being curated directly by Google and is available now, the same deal will be featured in Best Buy. Though the price itself is pretty enticing, it only becomes sweeter due to the actual features of the smart speaker.

The biggest differentiator between Google Home and the older, relatively more trusted Amazon Echo, is that the former will “know” so much more about its user. As C|Net reported, this is because the Google Home will have clear access to browsing history, GPS records and the like upon use. Setup is easy as well as the individual needs to only download the Google Home app to get things started.

Google Home, in essence, knows what is important to its users without being asked thanks to the individual’s Google account. So whether it is to read out a calendar, recall reminders or provide traffic reports, the smart speaker is efficiently able to do so. Furthermore, it can control various household gadgets, if the owner makes use of Google Chromecast.

Another great feature that the Google Home is that it has answers more fluidly than the Amazon Echo. One question can follow another without a halt in the conversation.

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The downside, however, is that the device is personalised to just one person and does not offer the same amount of service for all members of the family. In addition, it cannot make changes to existing items within Google accounts. A new appointment or to-do list will need to be manually altered or created.