Google Home Speaker powered by Gemini is going on sale June 25
It'll cost $99 and come in a variety of fun colors
🔊 Google is finally ready to launch its first smart speaker in a long time
🤖 The new Google Home Speaker powered by Gemini comes out next week
📐 The speaker has a familiar shape to the Nest Audio and comes in a bunch of colors
💰 It’ll be priced at $99 and deliver better sound than the aging Nest Mini
🛍️ Preorders are now live on Google’s website and Best Buy
Google’s next smart speaker is almost here. After not releasing any new smart home audio products for over five years, the company is finally introducing the Google Home Speaker to the market. It was initially teased nearly 10 months ago during the company’s Pixel 10 launch event, but there was no word on when it would actually ship. Now, we have a firm date: June 25.
The speaker looks a lot like a shorter version of the Nest Audio, which Google acknowledges was a bit tough to place around your home given its size. The new Google Home Speaker is shorter and easier to put on shelves, tabletops, and tighter spaces, like the Nest Mini. Speaking of which, Google says the Home Speaker will have much better audio quality than the Nest Mini, with full 360-degree audio output so that it sounds consistent from wherever you are in the room.
It’s powered by Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, which can be activated the same way you’ve always been able to interact with Google’s smart home speakers: just say “Hey Google,” and you’ll see pulsating lights glow from the bottom of the speaker. The company says it took its time to optimize Gemini for the speaker, according to The Verge, in order to reduce latency and bugs. As a result, the speaker is shipping later than Google initially promised, but is shipping nonetheless.
You’ll be able to pair two Google Home Speakers together for stereo audio output, which could be helpful if you want an accessible way to upgrade your TV’s speakers. The speaker will also support Matter and Thread 1.3 at launch for handling all of your smart home products.
The speaker itself is priced at $99, but there’s a catch: you also need to subscribe to Google Home Premium, which costs $10 per month. This is required to get Gemini Live to work. Luckily, you get a six month subscription bundled with your Home Speaker, but keep in mind that eventually, you’ll need to start paying to use Gemini (unless you subscribe to one of Google’s other AI subscriptions already, of course).
The Google Home Speaker is available in four colors: Porcelain, Jade, Hazel, and Berry. It’s up for preorder now from Google’s website and Best Buy.
Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut and co-host of The Shortcut Live. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.