Review of the Google Nest Audio

The Google Nest Audio is Google’s new smart home speaker that is replacing the Google Home, which was launched in 2016. Thanks to Google, we managed to get our hands on one to try it out. Here’s our review of the Google Nest Hub.

Appearance

While iterations of products typical resemble the predecessors, the Google Nest Audio does not look anything like the Google Home. Instead, it looks more like a longish Google Home Mini with the mesh fabric jazzing it up.

Similar to the Home Mini, the touch buttons of the Google Nest Audio are embedded in the fabric. To be exact, it is right at the top. Tapping on the left and right decreases and increases the volume respectively. Tapping it in the middle is to play/pause your audio content.

What can the Google Nest Audio do?

The Google Nest Audio works the same as any other Google’s smart home speaker so if you are already a user, you will not find it hard to adapt. Just say “Hey Google” and the Google Assistant will light up with its four LEDs at the front, awaiting your command.

You can tell it to play your Spotify music, YouTube Music, control your Philips Hue bulbs, read out your calendar, check the weather, etc.

If you want some privacy, you can always reach to the back of the Google Nest Audio to flip the manual switch to mute the Google Assistant so that it does not falsely think that you are calling it. It happened to me a few times even though I didn’t say “Hey Google”. Strange.

Audio quality of the Google Nest Audio

The audio quality of the Google Nest Audio is great. It is well-balanced and I have yet to experience any distortions even at its loudest. It is probably because of the enhancement that Google added where the device adapts to your environment and the content you are listening to like music (duh), news, podcast, radio, audiobooks, etc.

Though I must say that it lacks a bit of the bass that the Google Home had (RIP). That said, it still packs enough punch to give me the “umph” I need.

If you feel that one Google Nest Audio alone cannot fulfil your audio satisfaction, the good news is that you can pair up to two to give you the stereo experience.

Colours availability of the Google Nest Audio

The Google Nest Audio comes in chalk and charcoal colours in Singapore. In the US, they have other more vibrant choices like sage, sand and sky. They are actually green, pink and blue respectively so that you know.

Buy or bye?

The Google Nest Audio is a great smart home speaker that can meet your everyday needs like getting it to read out the news, your calendar, asking it whether it will rain or not and of course, your favourite music. It packs more than enough bass and the audio is clear and crisp.

If you are a minimalistic homeowner, the charcoal and chalk colours are definitely up your alley. But if you are someone who prefer fun and vibrant colours, you probably want to buy direct from the US, if you can.

Personally, I feel that it is a good buy if you do not already own a smart home speaker. You will definitely not be disappointed with your purchase.

The Google Nest Audio retails at S$139 in Singapore and $99.99 in the US. You can get it on the Google Store, Challenger or Courts.