Google’s latest speaker is chatty – very chatty. The tech giant’s new Google Home Speaker comes with Gemini built in, including the chatbot’s live interface that allows you to ask questions, interrupt, change the subject and ask follow-ups.
All you have to do is say “Hey Google, let’s chat” to kick off the conversation. There are no structured commands to learn, just “natural” conversation.
That in itself isn’t a new or exclusive feature. If you have existing Google Home devices, the company has already begun rolling out Gemini to your smart home. You can chat with Gemini Live on your second-gen Google Nest Hub or Hub Max, likewise on the second-gen Nest Mini and the Nest Audio.
The big difference is that the Google Home Speaker is the first of the devices that was built specifically to work with Gemini. That means it is built with custom processing to make your interactions with Gemini faster and more fluid.
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So where does it fit in? Well, officially it’s the only one left standing. Google has streamlined its smart home speaker ecosystem. Gone are the Nest Audio and the Nest Mini, at least from Google’s online store. In its place is the Google Home Speaker, which isn’t quite as compact as the Mini nor as tall as the Nest Audio.
Eagle-eyed spec spotters will also notice differences. The new Google Home Speaker uses a single 58mm driver for audio. That is an improvement on the 40mm driver used in the Nest Mini, but a step back from the Nest Audio’s dual driver system, which had a 75mm woofer and 19mm tweeter.
If you aren’t sure why this is important, you can always ask Gemini, and you’ll get a surprisingly honest answer. You could also argue that if you have to ask, then it probably isn’t something you will be bothered about.
The dual drivers are always going to be a cut above the single system, with better detail and depth, and stronger bass, particularly at higher volumes.
But the Google Home Speaker isn’t going for full-throated audio; it is targeting vocal clarity, while also establishing itself as the hub of your smart home. That is where it actually does very well.
One of the reasons for that is the Google Home Speaker now has 1GB of memory, which works alongside the quad core A55 chip and neural processing unit to process smart home requests locally.
For example, we have a Nest Hub that has recently been updated to Gemini or Home. Some of the younger members of the family like to pepper Gemini with questions about Minecraft, various YouTubers or the latest craze gripping the internet. That can sometimes be frustrating when the older speakers misinterpret the requests.
Likewise with the smart home commands; the new speaker, while not perfect, seems to respond more quickly to simple requests that could be handled locally like turning on and off lights and plugs. It struggles slightly when there is a lot of background noise, taking longer to decipher requests. But overall, there is less frustration, it is more useful, and in the long run, better for Google’s chances of firmly embedding itself in your home and future.
Another thing to consider is the Thread and Matter functions. Unlike the older Nest Audio and Nest Mini speakers, the new Google Home device is Matter-enabled and is also a Thread 1.3 border router. That means you can use the Home Speaker as a central hub that allows compatible smart home devices from different brands to work together, while the Thread capability helps you extend your home’s wifi network to areas of your home that might have black spots.
All of this comes at the same price as the Nest Audio, at €99. That might raise a few eyebrows, given the changes to the audio quality, but it is not unexpected. Given the capabilities of the speaker, it may well still seem like a good deal.
Good
If you want a good smart home speaker and are already using the Google smart home system, the new Home Speaker will fit right in. It comes with some new light effects so you know when Gemini is listening to you. It seems more reliable too, and faster to process requests.
Bad
If you want something that has Nest Audio quality in a smaller footprint, the new Google Speaker may not be it. While it sounds fine day to day, if you are hoping to replace speakers and are a fan of louder, punchier audio, the single driver system might not cut it. For most people, though, this will do just fine.
There are a few different colours for the speaker, but Google has kept the more colourful ones US only.
Everything else
There are six months of Google Home Premium included with the speaker – just enough to get you used to the smarter features before you have to cough up for the yearly subscription.
Verdict
Google’s new Home Speaker is aiming firmly for the heart of the smart home market, sacrificing a bit in audio quality to make itself more useful to a general audience.
