What is this? Say hello to the new Google Nest speaker

By John Velasco July 9, 2020

Just like that, Google teases us with the first image of its next Nest speaker. After images surfaced of the purported smart speaker on Thursday, it is now being shown in full glory courtesy of Google’s PR team, who shared it with us. You could say that we’re nearing an inevitable announcement, but the image does indicate that it’s going to be a sporting a dramatic redesign over the original Google Home from 2016. What do you think?

Looking closely at the picture, we can see that it’s going to be an upright, oblong-shaped speaker with the same four LEDs embedded on the front. If the dimensions match what was shown in the filings, it’s going to be one of the beefier-sized speakers in Google’s lineup. It is substantially taller than the original Google Home, but it’s not as hulking in size as the Google Home Max.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

In addition to the image sent to us, we also received a quick-cut video of the Google Nest speaker in action. From what we can tell, it will at least come in two different colors — the grey mesh fabric shown in the image, as well as a coral color in the video.

The ending of the video is particularly important, because the little girl comes into the room asking what it is while holding it in her hand. That’s a valid question, because it could mean that the new Google Nest speaker may be battery powered. It’s plausible because, in the video, you really can’t see any of the cords connected to the speaker in any of the scenes, other than the image we were given. If that turns out to be true, it will be the first in Google’s lineup to be truly portable.

Beyond that, we’re itching to see what other features it will offer. Based on its size, you can certainly bet that audio will be focus. It’s only a matter of time now before we hear more about it, especially as we head into the busy fall months and when the company is expected to announce its next Pixel smartphones.

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John is the Smart Home editor at Digital Trends covering all of the latest tech in this emerging market. From uncovering some…

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