Watch this: Google Home Max is a smart speaker built to party Google Home Max can sit flat, or stand vertically on its right side. Each spot the speaker can rest on has a series of magnets inside it.

My HomePod lives on my TV stand near a wall, so the 360-degree sound is sort of lost on me. The Google Home Max almost always sounds better, since the sound is coming at me straight-on.

the speaker can lay on its side or stand up vertically. It has touch controls in case you don’t want to open an app to control Google Assistant. And it supports Bluetooth and boasts a 3.5mm audio jack ...

The newly added camera is easily the biggest stand-out of the device ... Google recently brought support for Matter to the Google Home Hub Max, giving it an extra lease on life.

With a black or gray fabric cloth covering, it can stand either vertically or horizontally ... Not the case, however, with the Google Home Max, which was clearly built for sound.

Offering a vibrant screen, support for tons of apps, and the ability to sync with Google Home ... Max costs $229 and features a tabletop (or countertop) design. It comes with a built-in stand ...

Perhaps at some point down the road users will want to buy the slate separately, but it’s currently difficult to get excited about the device as a stand ... like the Google Home Max (RIP?).