Google Replaces Nest Mini With $99 Home Speaker as Gemini Upgrade Lifts Audio
Updated
Updated · Android Central · Jul 5
Google Replaces Nest Mini With $99 Home Speaker as Gemini Upgrade Lifts Audio
3 articles · Updated · Android Central · Jul 5
Summary
$99 buys Google's new Home Speaker, which replaces the no-longer-sold Nest Mini with stronger sound, faster on-device AI processing and deeper smart-home support.
A 58mm 360-degree driver, quad-core 2.0GHz chip with NPU, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4 and Thread border-router support make it a clear hardware step up from the older Mini.
Google also added surround-sound pairing with Google TV streamers, while keeping privacy features like a hardware mute switch and compact shelf-friendly design.
Launch performance is uneven: many Gemini requests run quickly, but some basic commands still lag badly and can take 20 seconds or more when cloud processing kicks in.
At twice the Nest Mini's original launch price, the speaker is positioned as Google's main smart-speaker refresh for the Gemini era rather than a budget wall-mount device.