The Google Nest Audio is available for pre-order now via the Google Store and a range of other retailers, and the release date is set for October 5 (October 15 in the UK).
GOOGLE NEST AUDIO SPECS:
Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n/ac (2.4 GHz/5 GHz) Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0
Speakers: 75mm woofer, 19mm tweeter
Processor: Quad Core A53 1.8 GHz
Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.9 x 3.1 inches (175 x 124 x 78 mm)
Weight: 2.6 pounds
Stream your favorites from your favorites. Just ask Google to play songs, playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks from popular streaming services
It’ll set you back $99 / £89 / AU$149, and it’s available in two colors in Europe (Chalk and Charcoal), while US buyers will get to settle on from three additional variants (Sage, Sand, and Sky).
If you would like to require advantage of the Nest Audio’s multi-room audio smarts or stereo sound feature, Google is currently offering discounts once you buy packages, including the house Entertainment package (two Nest Audio speakers, a Nest Hub Max, and a Chromecast with Google TV), the Audio Anywhere package (two Google Nest Mini speakers), and therefore the Room-filling Audio package (two Nest Audio speakers).
The price is slightly less than the first launch price of the Google Home, but above the present price of that speaker (if you’ll still find one for sale). It’s also worth noting that you simply can get the Google Nest Hub for around the same price, and if sound quality isn’t your highest priority the Google Nest Mini is out there for tons less.
If, on the opposite hand, sound quality is that the most vital thing to you, it’d be worth paying a touch more for something sort of a Sonos One or maybe Google’s house Max.
Design
- 70% of recycled materials
- Simple and subtle design
- Good touch controls
Unlike last year’s Nest Mini, which kept the planning of the house Mini that it replaced, Google has gone with an entirely new design for the successor to Google Home.
This time the entire unit is roofed during a fabric grille, keeping in line with the remainder of Google’s smart speakers. this easy design – as against the air freshener-Esque Google Home – works well for the smaller Google speaker, but it makes this larger speaker appear as if something of a featureless blob on your table when it’s not in use. On the opposite hand it’s very discreet, so should blend in well with most decor.
It’s also worth noting that the new Nest Audio is formed of 70%t recycled materials, and every unit will, consistent with Google keep, 1.2 500ml plastic bottles out of landfills, which is clearly an honest thing.
Even though nothing about the planning suggests it, there are literally three distinct touch surfaces on the highest of the speaker, and from left to right these allow you to lower the quantity, stop and begin playback, and switch the quantity up.
The only physical control on the speaker is that they turn on the rear that allows you to mute the microphone, to make sure that your Nest Audio isn’t taking note of you once you don’t want it to.
Apart from that, there are the four signature LEDs on the front that illuminate once you interact with Google Assistant, and that’s about it.
- Audio performance
- Improved bass response
- Missing details in mids and treble
- Picks up voice commands all right
As mentioned, audio quality looks to be a serious focus for Google with the Nest Audio. consistent with Google, its new speaker is 75% louder, and has 50% more bass, than the Google Home. which will be true, but we still can’t say it offers the upgrade in sound quality we were hoping for.
To be fair, the Nest Audio does sound pretty good when taking note of uncomplicated pop like Dagny’s Somebody or The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights. Such tracks are reproduced fairly well, and therefore the bass is certainly present, providing a solid foundation without being overwhelming.
However, it’s worth noting that a fast comparison to the tiny and portable JBL Flip 5 reveals that the latter can deliver significantly lower frequencies and that we can’t see why Google couldn’t have managed to bring more bottom end out of its new speaker.
More intricate tunes prove more of a challenge for the speaker, and therefore the surprising thing is that it’s not really the bass that disappoints – it’s more that the treble is missing a number of the flicker we’d hope for, and it means the soundstage may be a little muffled.
At an equivalent time, the high mids also are missing some detail, and when taking note of a classic like Fleetwood Mac’s Rhiannon, the vocals aren’t quite given the main target they deserve, while a number of the space and detail is drowned out by the booming lower mids.
The missing treble is often restored somewhat by cranking up that setting within the Google Home App, but there’s no adjustment for mids, so you can’t do much about the shortage of detail.
Turning up the quantity also shifts the balance somewhat towards more treble, but this also introduces another issue, with the sound becoming harsh and grainy. We found this particularly noticeable when taking note of Björk’s Army of Me, with the vocals having an unpleasant ring to them that basically should not be there.
To be clear, the sound quality overall isn’t terrible, and therefore the Nest Audio can offer you a pleasant listening experience at moderate volume levels – just remember that you simply don’t need to pay considerably more for a speaker which will deliver far more bass, detail, and sparkly treble with none harshness.
However, as a sensible speaker, the Nest Audio works all right. The voice assistant comes aloud and clear, and maybe easily heard even when you’re not on the brink of the speaker. The three microphones also did an honest job of learning our voice, amid both loud music and other noise within the room.
experience and features
Setup of your Google Nest Audio is completed through the Google Home app, and therefore the process of connecting to your Wi-Fi and configuring your Google Assistant settings is quick and straightforward. From there you’re able to start giving commands, asking questions, and playing music, and if you’ve used a sensible assistant before this all works exactly as you’d expect.
Via the Google Home App, you’ll assign the speaker to a selected room in your home (handy if you’re keen on fixing a multi-room audio system), found out filters for content, and active night mode. It’s also possible to mix two Nest Audio units during a stereo pair – configurations with other Nest speakers are possible, but limited to mono sound, though the power to feature the Nest Audio to a multi-room setup maybe a cool touch.
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Another feature that’s supported is the ability to call the speaker from your phone or the other way around through Google Duo. you’ll use this, for instance, to call and check on the youngsters while you’re out and that they also can line up of you easily by just asking the speaker to call you.
The Google Nest Audio has an automatic EQ feature that tunes the speaker counting on the ambient sound, and adjusts the sound depending on whether you’re taking note of music or speech in podcasts, although since this all happens automatically and within the background, it’s hard to inform exactly what’s being adjusted, and how. And – returning to our issues with the sound quality, it doesn’t necessarily improve the music listening experience all that much, but voices do a minimum of sound clear and loud.
Why buy Google Nest Audio?
- The Nest Audio is a space-saving and unassuming smart speaker that will fit anywhere.
- The Nest Audio is good enough for the kitchen or a bedroom, but it doesn’t deliver enough volume to fill a bigger space.
- While the sound quality when taking note of music is not the best, the Nest Audio works all right as a sensible speaker with clear voice output and good microphones.
