After a Decade of Google Home, I’m Ready for a Change

We’ve been a Google Home house for more than a decade.

I don’t think my kids remember a time when there wasn’t a Google device in their room. Something they could ask questions, use for bedtime, set an alarm on, or check the time.

For a long time, it was just part of how our house worked.

Lately? It’s become a source of frustration.

In our experience, these devices have become less useful over the last few years. Things we relied on have disappeared or stopped working the way they used to. And whatever Google is doing with Gemini, I haven’t felt the payoff in our everyday home setup.

I want the basics to work consistently. That feels like a pretty reasonable expectation for something the whole family uses.

The funny part is that almost everything else in our house is already Apple.

iPhones. iPads. MacBooks. iMacs. Mac minis. Even an Apple Vision Pro.

I’ve been an Apple guy for many years. We also have a few HomePods, and those have worked well for our setup with Apple TV.

So I think it’s time to give Apple a bigger role in how the house runs.

I’ve preordered an Apple HomeView.

I went with the standard HomeView with the speaker base in Space Gray. Keeping it simple to start.

Apple lists November 13 as the start of availability, so I’m looking forward to getting it next month.

Once it arrives, I’ll share what it’s actually like to live with. Setup, questions, alarms, everyday use, and how well it fits into a house full of Apple devices.

The real test is whether everyone in the family can use it without needing me to be household tech support.

If it works well, we may add a couple of the wall-mounted versions in other rooms. But I want to see how the first one does before making this a whole-house project.

I’m hopeful. I also want to see it earn its place in our daily routine.

A smart home should make the day a little easier. That’s what I’m looking for.

Did you preorder a HomeView? If so, which version and color did you pick?

And if you’ve been living with Google Home for years, how’s it holding up in your house?

Good move? Bad move? Too early? I’d like to hear what you think.