Google is constantly updating and improving on its products and now it’s just launched its brand new smart speaker. Nest Audio as it’s now called is the replacement for the Google Home speaker. There are some major design changes and improvements to the overall design and sound. I had the chance to get hands on with Nest Audio ahead of its public launch. Here’s what I found…
This review will cover the basics of what the Nest Audio device does, and what’s new. If you’re looking for help setting it up of creating a stereo pair or group, check out, How to set Up Nest Audio here on the channel
Nest Audio: What’s new?
First and foremost, Nest Audio is made to sound better than Google Home and it’s it’s 75% louder and has 50% more bass. We’ll get to how it sounds in a sec.
The most visible change from Google Home to Nest Audio is the design. Now taller, slimmer and more elliptical in shape, the Nest Audio is also completely fabric wrapped and it comes in a softer colour palette of5 shades. Google uses recycled bottles to make the fabric wrap. Google tells me it’s designed to blend in better with your home, and it does indeed look a lot less like technology and more like a softer decorative element; like a felt stone or a cushion.
New Family Bell
With a new feature called Family Bell (English only), you can add bell reminders throughout the day that announce when it's time to start an online class, take a break, settle in for reading time, have a snack or
even for bedtime.
To set one up you need to go to the Google Assistant app, (not the Home app) and click your profile photo in the top right. Scroll down until you see family Bell and follow the instructions to add one.
Touch controls
Touch controls carry over from Nest Mini: here they are on the top front: play and pause is top middle, and volume is adjusted up or down by tapping the corners. You can turn the mic off for provacy using the physical buttion on the back.
Sound Control & audio quality
The key upgrade on Nest Audio is overall sound quality.
One of the biggest complains about the original Google Home speaker was that it sounded muffled and wasn’t really designed to be a high end audio device; it was meant to be more of a digital assistant Han a fine audio device.
Google remedied that with Google Home Max and then Nest Hub Max but those are both much bigger speakers. This time around they told me they were trying to get all the audio quality of the Hub Max in a smaller package.
The all new Nest Audio speaker has a 75 mm woofer and 19 mm tweeter, plus 3 far-field microphones to hear your commands or use with phone calls, and a hardware mic mute switch.
So how does it sound? Impressive. Google has definitley gone all out on improved audio quality in a versatile size….
Right away you’ll notice the sound is crisp and clear. It comes across as very well balanced, and I can say these speakers are definitley loud.
Bass…
As a stereo pair, this is a really nice set of speakers. They sound excellent together and can definitley fill a space with sound. The sound is perfectly balanced, and you can place these two close together or further apart depending on your space.
Equalizer adjustments
If you want to fine tune your sound to your own tastes, you can use the EQ settings inside the Google Home app to finesse bass and treble.
Nest is making some promises to consumers when it comes to the sound quality, saying it delivers on sound that’s full, clear and natural:
○ Full: We specifically tuned Nest Audio to balance the lows, mids and highs so that nothing is lacking or
overbearing. The bass is significant and the vocals have depth, which makes Nest Audio sound great for all
genres: classical, R&B, and pop.
○ Clear: A custom-designed tweeter allows each musical detail to come through, and we optimized the grill,
fabric and materials so that you can enjoy the audio without distortion. You can hear the strumming of the
guitar and the sizzle of a cymbal.
○ Natural: Our goal was to ensure that Nest Audio stays faithful to what the artist intended when they were in
the recording studio. We minimized the use of compressors to preserve dynamic range, so that a whisper still
sounds soft and you’ll feel the power of a full choir.
○ Ambient IQ: Nest Audio adapts to background noise in the home, ensuring that you can hear the Assistant,
news or podcasts.
Smart Home control continues
Nest Audio works with over a thousand compatible smart devices, like TVs, lights, thermostats and locks and you can use your voice to
control your lights, thermostat, or turn off the TV. If you’re new to the smart digital assistant speaker concept here’s a quick look at what it can do:
