New Google Nest Home speaker: Release date, rumours and spec

It was pretty obvious that with the Google Home being the oldest of Google's speakers, that a replacement for this popular size of speaker must be in the works.

While the leaks haven't been as prolific as the Pixel 4a or Pixel 5, things just got turned up a notch on this speaker codenamed Prince. Here's everything we know and everything you need to know. 

Release date

• Rumoured launch alongside Pixel 5
• Guestimate launch October 2020

Google has skipped over a couple of launch chances in 2020 and we're expecting a wide range of devices - a new Android TV dongle, the Pixel 4a, the Pixel 5 and now this new smart speaker. 

There's currently no event in place for Google, but rumours suggest that we'll be seeing this speaker launch alongside the Pixel 5. That, according to historical patterns, would be around October 2020.

Design and build

• Officially confirmed by Google
• 215 x 150 x 60mm approx.
• Two colours

Rumours of the new Nest speaker (it's believed that it will launch under the Nest brand) appeared in June, but it wasn't until July that the design of this speaker was revealed in dramatic style. 

The new device passed through a couple of regulatory bodies, including the FCC as well as the Japanese equivalent, which contained images. Those images were shared online, giving us a complete look at the speaker.

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leaks

Google responded providing official images and a video, killing the leak cycle but confirming its new speaker.

It's a medium-sized speaker that very much matches the design of the Nest Mini and Nest Hub devices, covered in mesh and offering minimal controls. It looks like there will be two colours a grey and a pink version. 

There will be the customary four LEDs across the front as you get on other Nest speakers when you are talking to Google Assistant. 

According the to regulatory filing, the measurements are around 215 x 150mm. We can't be sure on the depth, but we'd guess around 60mm. It's a rounded cuboid with a mute switch on the rear, a rubber base at the bottom and a socket for the power on the back. 

Features

• Stereo pairing
• Google Assistant

As this joins an established family of devices, we pretty much know what it will do. It will be mainly powered by Google Assistant and be controlled through the Google Home app on your phone. It will have all the skills of other devices and that will likely mean you can easily add it to speaker groups around your home with a couple of taps.

It also supports Bluetooth, so we'd expect it to work as a standalone Bluetooth speaker if you want it to. There's no physical controls, so you'll have to use voice for control, although we'd expect some form of motion detection for tap interaction.

In the teaser video that Google has shared, we also see it sitting in a pair, suggesting that it's going to be designed for stereo pairing, rather than just grouping. The original leak for this speaker likened it to the Sonos One, suggesting that's the sort of space that Google is going for. 

Price

There's been no mention of the price, but given that the Google Home is available for £89 in the UK (it's no longer available in the US), we suspect this will be a likely price. The Amazon Echo costs £89/$99 and if you're going to compete in this space, that's the sort of price you really need to hit.

The Sonos One, for comparison, costs twice that.

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All the Google smart speaker leaks and rumours 

Here's everything that's happened so far so you can keep up with the story.

10 July 2020: This is what Google's new Nest smart speaker officially looks like

Google responds to leaks surrounding its forthcoming Nest speaker by sharing an official image and short video teaser for the forthcoming device.

9 July 2020: Google could be lining up a new Nest smart speaker, FCC leak suggests

Details hitting the FFC as well as the Japanese equivalent have revealed details of Google's forthcoming smart speaker Prince. The leak confirms the design, as well as some of the technical specifications.

16 June 2020: Google is set to replace Google Home with a new Nest-branded smart speaker

Google is reportedly looking at launching a replacement for the Google Home speaker and its codename is Prince.

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