I like having Google’s smart speakers scattered around my home.
I’m constantly using them to check the weather, add to my shopping lists, and ring my phone, which I’ve misplaced for the fifth time that day.
I use a Nest Mini and a Nest Audio, but I’ve wanted to replace the former for a while now; the audio is too weak to be useful.
But rather than upgrading to Google’s brand new Home Speaker (available to pre-order now), I’ll be buying another Nest Audio second-hand.
The Nest Audio is still a speaker worth buying
Powerful audio and Gemini integration
The Google Nest Audio is 6 years old and has been officially discontinued by Google, along with the Nest Mini.
That’s a long time for a product to be on the shelf, so from Google’s point of view, I understand its decision to retire the speaker.
But age does not mean a loss in quality, and the Nest Audio still holds up as an excellent device in 2026.
Google built the Nest Audio as its first smart speaker dedicated to playing music.
Priced at $99, with a 75mm woofer and 19mm tweeter (remember those numbers as they’ll be relevant later), it was capable of filling a room with impressive sound that didn’t suffer from the tinny quality of earlier speakers.
It was packed with clever hardware and software details, like skipping the internal radiators of the Google Home (that caused its distinctive muffled sound). Sound was also boosted on the software side by limiting compression.
The result was a seriously powerful speaker for its size that got me in trouble with my flatmates on more than one occasion.
Later, Google released the Nest Mini, a smaller, weaker, and cheaper version of the Nest Audio. Its 40mm driver produced decent sound for $50, but it couldn’t offer the power that causes neighbors to come knocking.
I use both smart speakers daily. Whether I’m rocking out in the kitchen (where my Nest Audio is placed) or listening to an audiobook while I clean my bedroom (where my Nest Mini is placed), both devices satisfy my needs.
But every time I move to my bedroom, I notice the drop in audio quality. For years now, I’ve operated on an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy, and have kept my Nest Mini kicking around.
The launch of the Google Home Speaker seemed like the perfect opportunity to upgrade my smart speaker setup. But instead, I’m hunting down a Google Nest Audio on eBay.
The Google Home Speaker appears to offer worse audio quality than the Nest Audio
Audio hardware has been downgraded
Google’s marketing materials are deliberately confusing.
You might have spotted the statement “2.5x stronger bass” bandied around, and thought (reasonably enough) that Google’s referring to the Nest Audio.
You would be wrong. The Google Home Speaker’s 58mm driver is twice the size of the Nest Mini’s driver, which is where that 2.5x claim comes from.
But why is Google comparing it to the obviously inferior Nest Mini? Priced at $99, the Nest Audio seems like the better comparison at first.
However, if Google did put these devices side by side, potential buyers would quickly notice that the Home Speaker has worse hardware than the Nest Audio.
Not only is the Nest Audio’s driver nearly twice as big as the Home Speaker’s, but its 19mm tweeter is completely missing on the Home Speaker.
The Home Speaker might have 360° audio, but it won’t offer the same oomph as the Nest Audio. Besides, I don’t know about you, but my speakers live in the corners of my room.
I’d need a serious upgrade in my housing conditions before I had a living room worthy of slapping a 360° speaker in the middle of it.
The Home Speaker sacrifices audio quality for AI
This is not a device designed for playing music
The crux of the problem is, you guessed it, AI. The Home Speaker feels like a throwback to the original Google Home speaker, which was marketed as a Google Assistant-first, audio-second device.
Not only is Google pushing the base capabilities of the $99 smart speaker, but it’s also trying to encourage us to buy a $10-a-month Google Home subscription, which includes Gemini Live.
Google is visualizing our lives revolving around the Home Speaker. Lovely if Gemini is something you use every day. Confusing if, like me, your most significant daily interaction with the assistant is to ring your phone.
I’m sticking with the audio-first smart speaker
This could be an opportunity to switch to a different brand of smart speakers, but I love my Nest Audio.
I’m scouring eBay for deals right now before the second-hand market dries up, and I can already tell I’m going to save money by not buying a Home Speaker.
I’m sure the Google Home speaker will provide decent audio. But why compromise when a 6-year-old device can do the same but better?
