Google introduced the new Google Home Speaker, a $99 smart speaker designed around its Gemini AI and available for pre-order in 18 countries ahead of a June 25 launch. The device marks Google’s return to standalone smart speakers since the Nest Audio in 2020 and brings the company’s next-generation voice capabilities into a compact home hub.
Hardware highlights focus on audio and sensing. The Home Speaker provides 360-degree sound driven by a 58 mm driver, a step up from Google’s smaller units. It uses three far-field microphones with a mute toggle and a light ring at the base to indicate activity. The top of the device houses three capacitive touch areas for basic controls. Google positions the unit for music streaming and voice control across integrated smart home devices.
The product was first shown at Google’s Made by Google event in August 2025. Google opened pre-orders in 18 countries and set a June 25 availability date. Different reports confirm pricing at $99 and emphasize the speaker’s role as a hardware vehicle for Gemini’s home-focused features. Other outlets note pre-order availability in select markets around mid-June.
The Home Speaker signals Google’s push to embed Gemini’s conversational AI into everyday home devices and to reassert itself in the standalone speaker market. The immediate indicators to follow are how well the Gemini assistant handles layered, mid-sentence corrections in real homes and how broadly Google rolls out the device beyond the initial pre-order markets.
After an almost six-year wait, Google has finally upgraded its smart speaker lineup. Hit or miss? Only time will tell. Early reactions over social media show a mix of excitement for the long-awaited refresh and cautious optimism about its real-world performance. Some users are thrilled at the prospect of more natural interactions after years of the same old Assistant, while others express skepticism over whether it will truly stand out or deliver on the hype. Ultimately, sales and user feedback in the coming months will reveal if this is the comeback Google needs, so we’ll just have to watch and see how it plays out.