Google’s first smart speaker in six years is finally here, and with its launch, the company is ushering in a new era of shouting at an inanimate object to turn your lights on and off. Wave goodbye to Google Assistant; this is the age of Gemini for Home.
The new Google Home Speaker, which retails for $100, is less about the bright new colors, audio upgrades, and fancy new ring lighting, and more about how all of those things wave the flag for Gemini, Google’s new North Star, and all of the smart home improvements the AI chatbot promises to usher in. In this generation of smart speaker, Google is pitching something that’s smoother, smarter, and more human than anything it’s released before. It’s a tall order for a short speaker, but given the state of voice assistant progress over the past decade (or lack thereof), it’s a welcome proposition on paper. “On paper” isn’t where progress takes place, though, and unfortunately, neither is the Google Home Speaker, lots of the time. 3 Google Home Speaker The Google Home Speaker looks great and sounds decent, but Gemini for Home doesn't feel revolutionary quite yet. Pros Love the new look, especially the new colors Snappier in processing commands Light ring is useful and fun Cons Gemini for Home doesn't feel super smart Hardwired cable is limiting Sound is just okay Berry charming on the surface © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo Though I have complaints about the experience of using the Google Home Speaker, almost none of them are about the hardware itself. Let me just start by saying it looks great. I love the new berry (red) color as well as the new jade (green). Props to Google’s design team for making a speaker that I genuinely want to put in my home for aesthetic purposes.
