Unboxing and Review of the Insignia Voice - Voice Activated Speaker

In my continuing quest to fully automate my home, I bring to you my unboxing and review of the Insignia Voice - Voice Activated Speaker powered by Google Assistant. Those of you who have purchased the Google Home or Google Home Mini like myself know that one speaker is often times not enough for your entire home. With the number of twists, turns, and obstacles obstructing the flow of your voice throughout the house, two or three devices may be optimal to keep you from having to yell across rooms to get things done.

Because I did not want to buy another Google Home Device and wanted something with a little bit more aesthetic charm, I decided to purchase this unit given that it could blend into my bedroom decor and serve as a clock at the same time. I purchased this at Best Buy, where it retailed for about $70 minus a number of Best Buy gift cards that I earned over time, bringing the total down to about $30 USD.

As usual, let's start out with the unboxing.

As you can see the speaker does not come with much. The packaging easily slides open revealing the contents, which include the speaker itself, the instructions and warranty, and an AC adapter.

Setting up the speaker was fairly easy using the Google Home/Google Assistant app.

For those of you who already have any of the Google Home devices, you simply need to allow the App to detect new devices, which should happen automatically when you open the App. You simply need to select the device, assign it to the room and it will automatically sync all of your previous settings, voice profiles, and account information that were already configured with the entire home ecosystem.

At first, my speaker kept saying that it wasn't set up and that it needed to be configured, but simply unplugging the device and plugging it back in got it working properly. The interface on the speaker itself is similar to all other Google devices - it is buttonless and has a touch-sensitive surface that lights up as soon as you come into contact with it. The controls are simple. Touch + to turn the volume up and - to bring the volume down.

It has the signature 4 dots to let you know when it is listening and a center play/pause button to execute a number of functions. You can press and hold the surface in order to activate google assistant as well as press a number of key combinations to execute various functions. Since it is voice activated though, I rarely if ever use the touch-surface features. There is a feature that reduces the volume to 20 if I you wave your hand over the device. This isn't clearly explained in the instructions and can be confusing if you're unaware of the functionality - I haven't found a way to deactivate the function either.

Like most Google Home devices, the Insignia Speaker can answer all your questions and share your playlists using it's connection to the internet and your Google profile. It has built-in Bluetooth allowing you to share and cast to multiple devices, including phones, tablets, and even other speakers that you may own.

The sound quality is excellent - the sub-woofer adds a lot of depth to the sound and the speaker volume can be loud enough for you to hear it in any room. Because of the built-in internal battery, you can also take this speaker anywhere such as your garage or deck and not have to plug it in while it plays music - even on long road trips.

The device sits nicely on my nightstand and constantly shows the time - which can be dimmed, and when asked about the weather, clearly displays the temperature as well. This is a feature I like vs the standard Google Home device. There is also a mic button on the back allowing you to disable the device from listening - since the device is technically always listening - for those of you that have fears about privacy, especially for devices placed in your bedroom.

The build quality of the device is solid and has a good weight to it. It is made mostly of plastic and weighs approximately 1.3 lbs. It is about 6-inches in height making it a good amount of power and functionality in such a small device.

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The only issue I have found so far with this device (and with all other Google Home devices so far) is that it doesn't have the ability to call and dial phone numbers. Unlike Amazon Alexa devices which have this feature, it would be nice to see this added to the device capability in a future update.

Through my initial use throughout the weekend, I don't have many bad things to say about this device. It does what it needs to do and on occassion more then I expect it to and it seems like a good replacement/substitute for the actual Google Home devices. I can see myself buying a few more for the rest of the rooms and my office. The clock and temperature display make it one-step better then all the other Google Home devices and I would highly recommend you pick one of these up for yourself if you get the chance.

I hope you enjoyed my unboxing and review of Insignia Voice - Voice Activated Speaker. If you have any questions, inputs, or feedback, please feel free to post a comment below. I would also appreciate support in the form of Upvoting, Following, and Re-steeming my post if you found it informative.