The Nest Audio is a $99 Google Assistant smart speaker with powerful audio

The Google Nest Mini (the successor to the Google Home Mini) is an incredibly popular compact smart speaker. However, Google’s ambitions with Assistant-enabled speakers started with the original Google Home four years ago. That device is long overdue for a successor, and we seem to finally have one. Meet the new Google Nest Audio, the latest smart speaker from Google with Google Assistant functionality.

Google Nest Audio: Specifications

Specification	Google Nest Audio
Build	Fabric Cover made from 70% recycled plastic 4 LEDs in the middle
Dimensions & Weight	6.89 x 4.88 x 3.07 inches 2.65lbs
Audio (In and Out)	75mm woofer 19mm tweeter 3 far-field microphones
Voice Assistant	Google Assistant
Controls	Touch Controls: Play/Pause – Tap front top Volume up – Tap front right corner Volume down – Tap front left corner)
Charging	30W DC power supply
Connectivity	2.4GHz/5GHz 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) Bluetooth 5.0

The Nest Audio has been a bit of an open secret thanks to multiple leaks and even an official teaser from Google. The Google Nest Audio takes a different approach to the smart speaker than the uber-popular Google Nest Mini. This time around, Google has created a powerful speaker first and then made it smart, giving us a product that looks promising while remaining a functional speaker. The Nest Audio is larger than the original Google Home and the Google Home Mini/Nest Mini, but it still comes with a fabric cover like its siblings. There are four LEDs underneath the fabric cover for providing the visual cue for when Google Assistant is listening or responding. There is also a mute switch on the back of the device, in case you do not want the speaker to listen for the Google Assistant hotword.

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The larger size allow the Google Nest Audio to pack a good punch when it comes to audio, at least on paper. You get a 75mm woofer, a 19mm tweeter, and 3 far-field microphones. Google claims that the Nest Audio is 75% louder than the original Google Home, with a 50% stronger bass response.

And of course, this is a smart speaker from Google, so you can expect to tap into the power of Google Assistant with your voice. You can ask the Assistant questions about the weather, traffic, places, flights, movie times, and so much more. You can create routines to automate certain actions, and you can also control any product that integrates with the Google Assistant ecosystem. Finally, you can cast any audio to the device using Google Cast or Bluetooth.

Pricing and Availability

The Google Nest Audio is available starting October 5th in 21 countries. In the U.S., it costs $99.99 and can be picked up from Google.com or across offline retailers like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy. You can pick up the device in Chalk, Charcoal, Sage, Sand, and Sky colors.

 

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