The Google Gemini Home Speaker Is Officially Available for Pre-Order.
Great news for Gemini fans: Google’s chatbot is fully integrated into the latest Google Home Speaker , and it’s almost here: you can pre-order it today for $99.99, with the official launch happening Thursday, June 25. If you’ve been considering picking up an Amazon speaker with Alexa+ this Prime Day, Google may have given you cause to reconsider.
The Google Home speaker’s main feature is its Gemini zodiac sign.
The Google Home Speaker is the company’s first smart speaker to come with built-in Gemini technology. This makes sense, considering the company’s last smart speaker was the second-generation Google Nest Mini , released back in 2019 —three years before ChatGPT kicked off the current generative AI boom. Six years later, the technology (not to mention the world) looks very different.
Thus, much of the advertising for Google’s new voice assistant focuses on its Gemini-specific capabilities, which significantly surpass those of the company’s previous digital assistants. The key advantage is the contextual awareness of its generative AI: you can ask Gemini logical questions (e.g., “Turn off all the lights except the nightstand lamp”), combine multiple requests at once (“Dim the living room lights, play a jazz station, and set a timer for 15 minutes”), and make corrections to what you just said (“Turn off the kitchen light; oops, I mean turn it on”).
Google also encourages users to ask Gemini “complex” questions, such as, “What’s the weather like for my favorite team’s next game?” Gemini should intuitively detect when and where the game is taking place and provide relevant weather information. The AI also has “short-term memory,” meaning you don’t have to repeat your questions when clarifying them. Google’s “Continue Conversation” feature also keeps the microphone active after you answer, anticipating subsequent questions, so you don’t have to say “Hey Google” after every interaction. You can also use Gemini’s Live mode for a real conversation about any topic you’re interested in. Like Amazon Echo speakers, Google Home features a new “light ring” that will glow whenever the device is “speaking” or “thinking,” providing visual feedback. (You can still use the physical switch to mute the microphone.)
Audio and design of Google Home Speaker
According to Google’s specifications , this new speaker features a 58mm full-range driver with “omnidirectional sound.” In other words, it delivers “balanced 360º sound” that plays in all directions. Like other small smart speakers, it’s designed to deliver high-quality audio anywhere in the room. And, like the Amazon Echo and Apple HomePod mini, two Google Home speakers can now be linked together—they can stream audio through Google TV Streamer for surround sound, and they can also connect to Home and Nest speakers for multi-room audio.
The Google Home speaker supports Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, and Thread 1.3. It has 1GB of RAM, 4GB of storage, and a quad-core 2.0GHz A55 processor with a neural processing unit (NPU), which likely powers the Gemini’s built-in processors. It’s similar in appearance to the Nest Mini, albeit slightly taller. Gone are the days of the “squashed” design of Google speakers. In addition to the new light ring, the speaker comes in four colors: walnut, porcelain, jade, and berry. Overall, it looks solid, but we’ll have to wait for testing before we know how well these speakers live up to Google’s claims—or other options on the market.
Google Home Speaker has some serious competition.
Google’s latest smart speaker returns to a tech market that’s very different from the one the Google Nest mini entered in 2019. Google’s main competitor remains Amazon, though Echo devices now run Alexa+ rather than Alexa. Amazon has also invested heavily in its generative AI assistant, and in many ways , these efforts appear to have paid off —especially for Prime members, who don’t have to pay Amazon’s subscription fee.
As with all tech ecosystems, users of Amazon platforms may naturally gravitate toward its speakers and services. But will the Google Home Speaker, with its Gemini technology, be able to lure platform-agnostic users away from devices like the Echo Dot Max , which also costs $99.99? Both platforms offer conversational assistants with contextual recognition, but Amazon can afford to heavily discount its own products during Prime Day .
And don’t discount another potential player in this market: Apple. While the HomePod mini is attractively priced , it’s a completely different product, as Siri’s capabilities are significantly inferior to those of Gemini or Alexa+. But this could change with the release of Siri AI or if rumors are confirmed and Apple soon releases a smart home display . In short, for now, the AI-enabled smart speaker market is still open to competition.