It was pretty obvious that with the Google Home being the oldest of Google's speakers, a replacement for this popular size of speaker must be in the works.
It leaks haven't been as prolific as the now annouced Pixel 4a or the upcoming Pixel 5, but recently things have turned up a notch on this speaker codenamed Prince.
Here's everything we know and everything you need to know about the new Google Nest Home speaker.
Release date
- Before end of August 2020
Google has skipped over a couple of launch chances in 2020 and we're still expecting a wide range of devices – a new Android TV dongle, the Pixel 5 and the new Google Home smart speaker. The Pixel 4a was also on this list until launched on 3 August.
It was originally thought that Google would launch the speaker with new devices in October 2020. A tease from the company then led to the suggestion it might happen on 13 July.
Take a deep breath and prepare. Something special is coming this Monday. pic.twitter.com/EV850z5bU7
— Google Nest (@googlenest) July 11, 2020
That of course didn't happen and the latest leak from Roland Quandt has claimed the speaker will be revealed before the end of August 2020 so that's the new target.
Design and build
- Officially confirmed by Google
- 215 x 150 x 60mm approx.
- Two colours
Rumours of the new Nest speaker (it's believed that it will launch under the Nest brand) appeared in June, but it wasn't until July that the design of this speaker was revealed in dramatic style.
The new device passed through a couple of regulatory bodies, including the FCC as well as the Japanese equivalent, which contained images. Those images were shared online, giving us a complete look at the speaker.
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Google responded providing official images and a video, killing the leak cycle but confirming its new speaker.
It's a medium-sized speaker that very much matches the design of the Nest Mini and Nest Hub devices, covered in mesh and offering minimal controls. It looks like there will be two colours a grey and a pink version.
There will be the customary four LEDs across the front as you get on other Nest speakers when you are talking to Google Assistant.
According the to regulatory filing, the measurements are around 215 x 150mm. We can't be sure on the depth, but we'd guess around 60mm. It's a rounded cuboid with a mute switch on the rear, a rubber base at the bottom and a socket for the power on the back.
Features
- Stereo pairing
- Google Assistant
As this joins an established family of devices, we pretty much know what it will do. It will be mainly powered by Google Assistant and be controlled through the Google Home app on your phone. It will have all the skills of other devices and that will likely mean you can easily add it to speaker groups around your home with a couple of taps.
It also supports Bluetooth, so we'd expect it to work as a standalone Bluetooth speaker if you want it to. There's no physical controls, so you'll have to use voice for control, although we'd expect some form of motion detection for tap interaction.
In the teaser video that Google has shared, we also see it sitting in a pair, suggesting that it's going to be designed for stereo pairing, rather than just grouping. The original leak for this speaker likened it to the Sonos One, suggesting that's the sort of space that Google is going for.
Price
- Around €100 (£89/$117)
According to leaker Roland Quandt, the new Google Nest Home speaker device will cost around 100 Euros. Given that the Google Home is available for £89 in the UK (it's no longer available in the US), we suspect this will be a likely price.
The Amazon Echo costs £89/$99 and if you're going to compete in this space, that's the sort of price you really need to hit.
The Sonos One, for comparison, costs twice that.
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All the Google smart speaker leaks and rumours
Here's everything that's happened so far so you can keep up with the story.
7 August 2020: Hey Google, will the new Google Nest Home launch this month?
Leaker Roland Quant claims the new Google Nest Home speaker will be available before the end of the month and cost around €100.
11 July 2020: Google teases Nest activity for 13 July
Google has teased from its Nest account on Twitter that something is going to happen on 13 July, likely to be the launch of the new Nest speaker.
10 July 2020: This is what Google's new Nest smart speaker officially looks like
Google responds to leaks surrounding its forthcoming Nest speaker by sharing an official image and short video teaser for the forthcoming device.
9 July 2020: Google could be lining up a new Nest smart speaker, FCC leak suggests
Details hitting the FFC as well as the Japanese equivalent have revealed details of Google's forthcoming smart speaker Prince. The leak confirms the design, as well as some of the technical specifications.
16 June 2020: Google is set to replace Google Home with a new Nest-branded smart speaker
Google is reportedly looking at launching a replacement for the Google Home speaker and its codename is Prince.
