Unboxing the brand new Gemini-powered Google Home Speaker [VIDEO]

It is funny how things eventually come full circle. After years of navigating the somewhat confusing naming conventions of Nest Audio, Google Home Minis, and the Google Home Max, Google is officially bringing back the core branding. The brand new (and aptly named) Google Home Speaker just landed in the office this week, and I am incredibly excited to finally get it out of the box and onto the desk.

While a full, comprehensive review will take a bit of time as we live with the device and put it through its paces, I wanted to get it set up, test the initial audio quality, and see what the hardware actually feels like in person.

A familiar design with smart hardware tweaks

If you followed the initial hardware teases from last fall, you already know this speaker took a little longer than expected to actually arrive on shelves. Google intentionally held it back to ensure the Gemini AI integration was fully baked, but the physical hardware they delivered is quite nice.

Aesthetically, it looks a lot like a blown-up version of the classic Nest Mini, wrapped in that familiar recycled fabric. But Google has made some massive quality-of-life improvements to the physical layout:

• No more proprietary power bricks: Instead of a highly specific barrel plug that becomes useless if you lose the wall adapter, the speaker features a hardwired USB-C receiver. You just plug it into a standard charging brick, meaning if you ever misplace the plug during a move, it is incredibly easy to replace.
• A better mic mute layout: There is a physical mute switch on the back, but Google finally ditched the persistent, annoying orange lights that used to stay illuminated when the mic was killed. Instead, the speaker relies on a very clean, dynamic LED light ring around the bottom base to communicate its status.
• Top touch controls: The top of the speaker retains the invisible touch-capacitive controls we are used to, allowing you to easily tap to adjust the volume or play and pause your media.

Built from the ground up for Gemini Live

The real reason this speaker exists is to serve as a physical vessel for Google’s new AI framework. The goal here is to finally deliver the truly conversational experience that we have always wanted from our smart home hardware.

Because the speaker features upgraded internal processing, a lot of the conversational back-and-forth with Gemini happens locally on the device rather than constantly bouncing to the cloud. You can ask it a question, get an answer, and seamlessly ask a follow-up question without having to re-prompt it with a wake word.

To help users test this out, the speaker comes with a 6-month trial of Gemini Live (which is also included if you already subscribe to the Google AI Pro or Advanced tiers). This premium tier also unlocks some great secondary smart home features, like the ability for the speaker to actively listen for smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, or breaking glass and immediately push an alert to your phone.

First impressions on 360-degree sound

Ultimately, it is still a speaker, and it needs to sound good. After a quick initial setup via the Google Home app, we cranked up some background music and the results were highly promising.

The speaker pumps out 360-degree sound, meaning it sounds equally rich and full no matter what side of the device you are standing on. It has enough bass to rumble the desk slightly and offers really nice instrument separation. If you need something to fill a decent-sized room while you are hosting guests, this is going to more than get the job done.

I will be spending a lot more time with the Google Home Speaker over the coming weeks to see how Gemini holds up to daily household tasks and to put its audio profile head-to-head against the older Nest Audio. But for now, if you want to get your hands on one, you can grab the Google Home Speaker directly from Best Buy right now.