However, this latest Google Home speaker brings with it one big change: the device has been redesigned to feature the new Gemini Assistant instead of the Google Assistant that powered all previous speakers and smart displays.
Google announced the speaker last fall, along with new Nest smart home cameras and a video doorbell, with a launch promised in spring 2026. We’re now well into summer, but it’s finally time to let go.
The company announced today that pre-orders for the Google Home speaker will begin on June 17 and official sales will begin on June 25. It costs $100 and comes in berry, jade, hazel, and porcelain, though the first two colors are US-only.
The experience of using this should be familiar if you have other smart speakers. You wake up Gemini via the hot word “Hey, Google” and ask it questions. But Gemini is many times better than the old Google Assistant at understanding natural conversations, so your questions don’t need to be so drastic, and you won’t need to ask things multiple ways to get what you want. Even if you make an error in your original question, you can pause and rephrase your question – just like you would if you were talking to a human being – and Gemini will understand your intent.
%2520copy.jpg "The Gemini-Powered Google Home Speaker Is Finally Here 2")
You can string together several commands in one sentence, and a Gemini should be able to keep track of them. You can be extremely specific – turn off all the lights except my bedside lamp – and it will parse it. You can ask for a follow-up conversation without bringing up the original context again; Like the Google Assistant speaker, the microphone stays on for a while after Gemini answers a question so you can ask a follow-up without having to say the wake phrase again. The feature, called Continued Conversation, was only available in English on Assistant-powered speakers, but the feature has expanded to all supported languages.
If you have security cameras, you can use Gemini to ask specifically about anything the cameras saw, like “Did FedEx drop off any packages today?” or “Did the dog eat the cookie off the counter?” You don’t need a Google Home speaker for this specific feature – if you’ve chosen a Gemini for your existing Google Home, it’s already available – although it’s a nice feature to have included here.
As far as what Gemini sounds like, there are 10 voices to choose from. You can also trigger Gemini Live – while Gemini last expanded to older smart speakers, this “Live” capability is limited to newer devices like Nest Audio and Google Home speakers. Enter this mode by saying “Hey Google, let’s talk” and you can have a back-and-forth conversation with Gemini; There is no need to stop and say wake-up words.
<a href