Google's new smart speaker ditches Google Assistant

Dylan Crismale - Digital Content Editor

Last updated 23 June 2026

Google's new smart speaker dubbed the Google Home Speaker hits stores this week.

It's the first new device since the Google Nest Audio (which released back in 2020) and will see the Google Assistant replaced by Google's Gemini AI model.

Compared to previous Google Home speakers, the move to Gemini will let the new one process natural language better. In short, you're more likely to be understood rather than misheard.

Gemini Live will let you chat more freely because you'll be able to interrupt the assistant and ask follow-up questions. However, there's a catch — you'll need a Google Home Premium subscription for those features.

If you purchase a Google Home Speaker before September 30, Google will give you a free Home Premium subscription for six months. It costs $15 per month or $150 per year for the basic plan and $30 per month or $300 a year for the more advanced version.

The speaker itself costs $199 and comes in two neutral colourways a white (Porcelain) and dark grey (Hazel). The more exciting red (Berry) and green (Jade) will only be available in the United States.

The Google Home Speaker delivers 360-degree audio with a 2x larger driver and 2.5x stronger bass over the Nest Mini. If you have multiple devices you can create speaker groups to play music throughout your home. You can also pair two of the speakers with a Google TV Streamer as a home theatre setup.

The Google Home speaker is available for pre-order now ahead of its June 25 launch. It's available from the Google Store, Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi.

Dylan Crismale

Digital Content Editor

Dylan Crismale is a Digital Content Editor at WhistleOut, has been writing for almost a decade across a variety of Australian publications. He previously worked as a writer at Finder covering energy, internet and mobile plans. Dylan is passionate about finding the best deals to save people money and educating people about tech. When he's not sat at his desk Dylan loves working out, bingeing TV and hanging out with friends.

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