I'm ditching Google's new Home Speaker for a 6-year-old Nest Audio, and the specs prove I'm right
Android Police 2026-06-27 10:00:11
Context: The author, Jon Gilbert, a features writer for Android Police, is choosing to stick with his 6-year-old Nest Audio smart speaker instead of upgrading to Google's new Home Speaker. He uses his smart speakers daily to control his home and listen to music, and believes the Nest Audio still provides excellent sound quality despite being discontinued by Google. The author is skeptical of the new Home Speaker's capabilities and feels it is being marketed as a Google Assistant-first device rather than a high-quality audio speaker.
Key Facts
- The Nest Audio, released 6 years ago, was Google's first smart speaker dedicated to playing music, priced at $99, and featured a 75mm woofer and 19mm tweeter.
- The Google Home Speaker, available to pre-order now, has a 58mm driver, which is twice the size of the Nest Mini's driver, but smaller than the Nest Audio's driver.
- The author uses both a Nest Audio and a Nest Mini daily, but finds the audio quality of the Nest Mini to be weaker, which is why he has been looking to upgrade.
- Google's marketing materials claim the Home Speaker has "2.5x stronger bass" than the Nest Mini, but the author argues that comparing it to the Nest Audio would be a more relevant comparison.
- The author plans to buy another Nest Audio second-hand instead of the new Home Speaker, citing that the 6-year-old device still holds up as an excellent speaker in 2026.