Google is about to ship its first new smart speaker in six years, and the company is positioning it as the best way to use its Gemini-powered home assistant.
The new Google Home Speaker goes on sale for preorder today and begins shipping on June 25. Priced at $99, it arrives after Google first announced the device nine months ago and just misses the spring launch window the company had previously indicated.
The hardware itself has not changed since the speaker was first shown. Google is sticking with the same compact, rounded shape, with touch controls on top and a light ring along the bottom that signals status. The speaker will be available in four color options: porcelain, hazel, jade and berry. Google says jade and berry are only being offered in the U.S.
The biggest shift is not in the exterior, but in the software experience it is built to support. Google says the Home Speaker is its first audio product created specifically for Gemini for Home, the company’s newer smart home assistant. Gemini for Home can also run on other Nest speakers and smart displays, but Google Home chief product officer Anish Kattukaran has said this new speaker is meant to deliver the strongest version of that experience.
In a recent briefing, Kattukaran said the speaker uses local processing for functions such as noise cancellation, echo suppression and sound separation. Those capabilities are intended to help Gemini hear commands more reliably in busy homes and in rooms with background noise.
Google has already made Gemini for Home available on Nest speakers through an early access program for several months, but the new Home Speaker marks the first device explicitly built with the assistant in mind.
Beyond voice control, Google is pitching the speaker as a compact audio hub. It supports 360-degree sound, and two units can be paired for stereo playback. It can also be connected with a Google TV Streamer to create spatial surround sound.
The device also doubles as part of the connected-home infrastructure. Google says it works as a Matter controller and a Thread Border Router, which means it can help manage compatible smart home accessories and connect Thread-based devices to a broader network.
Some features will require a paid subscription. Google says the Home Speaker needs a Google Home Premium plan for certain functions, though the company did not detail all of the limitations in the source material.
The launch comes at a time when smart speakers have become more closely tied to generative AI features, as companies look for ways to make voice assistants more conversational and more useful around the home. For Google, the new Home Speaker appears to be both a hardware refresh and a showcase for Gemini as it expands beyond phones and displays.
With preorders open and shipping set to begin next week, Google is finally returning to a product category it has largely left untouched for years, this time with a device built around its latest assistant technology.