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A few months after the original Google Home made its debut in 2016, a teardown video made its way around the web that revealed pogo pins hiding inside the smart speaker. Speculation quickly arose that Google may have been planning a portable version of the Assistant-enabled speaker but alas, nothing ever came of the development.
Since that time, the Google Home product line has continued to expand but despite its new home under the Nest brand, no battery-equipped Google/Nest product has been released.
That fact hasn’t stopped other manufacturers from making on-the-go Assistant devices and you can even find some relatively inexpensive accessories that can turn your #MadeByGoogle smart speaker into a carry-along companion.
Still, with Nest taking the reigns and the Home lineup taking on a life of its own, we’re past due for a portable version and now, we may get just that.
A recent FCC filing shows a new Nest product with a model number only one digit off of the upcoming Nest Home Hub Max (A4RH2A and A4RH2B respectively). This could be the Yin to the Max’s Yang but there isn’t much detail to go on at the moment, so this is purely conjecture.
There is no mention of a display on the new Nest device but there is one interesting detail that will set it apart and that is the inclusion of a 3.8V Lithium ion battery which is a very good indication that it will be rechargeable and portable.
Kyle Bradshaw of 9to5Google speculates that this could be Google’s version of Lenovo’s newly debuted Smart Clock, but the fact that this Nest device is equipped with a battery has me leaning more towards a smart speaker. Based on the postion, size and shape of the label, I would bet we’re looking at something in the realm of the Harmon Kardon Citaion 300, which also happens to be a Google Assistant smart speaker. It only lacks the portability of a battery.
Speculation aside, Google generally doesn’t pass their products through the FCC unless they are on the cusp of an announcement. I’m not sure when that will be, but given the fact that we’re outside any real shows or conferences, this one may just show up in the Google Store without much fanfare. We’ll keep a close watch and let you know as soon as we know exactly what the new Nest device turns out to be.
Source: 9to5Google
