Google has narrowed its smart speaker lineup to a single new device, the $100 Google Home Speaker, while replacing Google Assistant with Gemini for Home across most of its smart home hardware, according to WIRED.
The change matters for anyone buying into Google’s home system because the hardware choice is now less messy, but the software is more tiered. The basic Gemini for Home assistant is free on supported devices. Some of the more capable features, including Gemini Live, sit behind Google Home Premium subscriptions.
WIRED says the new Home Speaker arrived in June and replaces both the Nest Audio and Nest Mini. The device revives the name Google used for its original 2016 smart speaker, though WIRED describes the 2026 design as closer in shape to Apple’s HomePod Mini than to Google’s older speakers.
The new speaker uses a 58-mm full-range driver. In WIRED’s testing, the speaker produced strong sound for its size, with bass that did not feel thin. The publication also found Gemini’s spoken answers more natural and more detailed than the old Google Assistant, and said Gemini performed slightly better than Amazon’s Alexa+ in its questions.
Google has added touch controls, but WIRED notes one bit of physical-interface nonsense: the volume lights appear only after tapping the device, and users may need the power cord as a reference point to know which side raises or lowers volume. The top can be tapped to pause music or stop Gemini’s spoken responses.
Gemini comes free, until it does not
Gemini for Home is Google’s smart-home version of the company’s Gemini assistant, WIRED reports. It replaces Google Assistant on nearly all existing Google smart speakers and displays. Users can choose from multiple voices, and the assistant can answer questions and control smart home devices.
The free tier does not include everything. Google Home Premium’s standard plan costs $10 a month or $100 a year and includes 30 days of event-based video history, familiar-face and package alerts, Gemini Live, and an AI tool for building household routines, according to WIRED.
The advanced plan costs $20 a month or $200 a year. It adds 60 days of event-based video history, 10 days of continuous video history, descriptive notifications, searchable video history, video event descriptions and daily summaries. It also includes Gemini Live and the routine-building tool.
Gemini Live is invoked by saying, “Hey Google, let’s chat,” WIRED reports. The new Home Speaker includes six months of Google Home’s standard plan.
Older devices are unevenly supported
WIRED says the 2016 Google Home, Google Home Mini, Google Home Max and 2019 Nest Mini get Gemini, but not Gemini Live. The Nest Audio, Nest Hub, Nest Hub Max, second-generation Nest Hub and 2026 Home Speaker support both Gemini and Gemini Live, with the paid requirement for Live.
The odd miss is Google’s Pixel Tablet with Speaker Base. WIRED reports the tablet can use the Gemini app when undocked, but it does not get Gemini for Home as the docked voice assistant. The publication says the product has been disappearing from shelves and is unlikely to remain part of Google’s smart home lineup.
For buyers who want a screen, WIRED still recommends the 2019 Nest Hub Max, priced at $229 through Google. It has a 10-inch display, two 10-watt tweeters, a 30-watt woofer and a 6.5-megapixel camera with a 127-degree field of view. It also works as a Google Photos frame, using the free 15 GB storage limit shared across a user’s Google account.
This story draws on original reporting from WIRED.
