Following those previous leaks, Google has taken a page out of its own book and shown us a glimpse of “what the Nest team is working on from home.” The images (and video!) clearly depict the upcoming Nest Speaker, confirming the overall design we saw earlier today.
Some outlets (not us, for some reason) were even sent a video of the speaker in action as a sort of “supercut” of what it looks like in Nest team member’s homes:
Video via Mishaal Rahman.
Much more visible in the image (at the top of this post) is the seam down the side of the speaker. We also get our first glimpse of the other colors we can expect. Names might vary, but if it’s anything like Google’s existing Nest speakers, now we know what it looks like in light blue and coral — on top of what we have to assume was light gray in the regulatory filing images.
Based on the video, we have to assume that the speakers (as you’d probably expect, and like other Google Home/Nest speakers) can be paired for stereo use.
This isn’t the first time that Google has taken control of product leaks like this. Last year the company leaked part of the Pixel 4’s design all on its own after the first images of the phones leaked, and it followed that up with a detailed explanation of upcoming features. We still don’t have a formal product announcement for this new, as-yet-unnamed Nest speaker, but Google’s taken back control of the dialogue for its upcoming product in what’s starting to be a trend.
ok google show me a comprehensible product launch strategy
*sorry, I can’t do that yet*
— David “bury me with my golden arm” Ruddock (@RDRv3) July 10, 2020
Google’s response to leaks (and, frankly, its overall product strategy) still seems a little inconsistent, but now we can definitely point at what the upcoming Google Home successor will look like now that the original has been discontinued. The company’s hardware approach might need some work, but it’s not like Google would be so foolish as to ignore building a Google Home successor.
