Google has finally announced a new smart speaker. The Google Home Speaker is shorter, wider, offers better audio quality, comes with a new light ring, and most importantly, will be “engineered for Gemini.” This means that it will be better equipped to handle the demanding AI tasks that will come with Google Assistant being phased out for the newer AI model.
But does it also mean that existing smart devices from Google will be less equipped for accessing Gemini for Home, which becomes available this month for those with early access?
Existing smart tech: Not made for Gemini
Will older Google smart home devices be left behind?
The Gemini-ification of the Google ecosystem has been nothing if not swift. AI Overviews are becoming more and more common across its search engine, and platforms like Gmail and Docs are filled to the rafters with new AI features.
Google smart home technology is clearly next up for the update, with the company rolling out a refreshed Google Home interface and early access to Gemini for Home this month. On top of that, the new Google Home Speaker was just announced, with plans to release it to the public for $99 in Spring 2026.
The Google Home Speaker — which is the first new smart speaker launched by Google since the Nest Audio in 2020 — offers some fairly standard upgrades, like 360° audio and a new light ring, but it’s also “Engineered for Gemini.” What exactly does that mean? Well, according to the Google announcement, the device is “built for more natural conversations, with custom processing to handle Gemini’s advanced AI for faster, more fluid interactions.”
If the Google Home Speaker is “engineered for Gemini,” though, what about the other smart speakers and smart displays in the Google ecosystem? Devices like the Nest Hub Max and the Nest Audio are promised some kind of Gemini update obviously, given the fact the early access to Gemini for Home is live this month, but is it going to be as good as the on-device AI of the new Google Home Speaker?
Given the fact that this announcement is as fresh as they get, and the device isn’t going to be available until next year, it’s hard to say how the Gemini functionality will differ between the old guard and the new smart speaker on campus. But at this point in the conversation, it’s just nice to know that Google plans to keep the smart speakers coming for a while.
