Reason No. 2: It’s got a new design. The air freshener aesthetic and swappable bases are gone. Instead, the Nest Audio resembles a mini pillow. Chris Chan, a product manager for the Nest Audio, tells Input they wanted a more organic shape inspired by the products and materials in the rooms the speaker would live in.
If by organic, Nest means basic, then it nailed it because the Nest Audio is as generic as a smart speaker gets. That's not bad if you want the speaker to be as invisible in your home as possible. But also, it sums up smart speakers in 2020: we've peaked.
Sustainability matters. So it's great to see companies like Google and Apple proactively use recycled materials. According to Google, "the fabric is 100% recycled plastic bottles, excluding dyes and additives. The device’s enclosure is 70% recycled plastic, which includes fabric, housing, foot and a few smaller parts."
You wouldn't know it at first, but there are three touch-sensitive buttons on the top surface. Tap the left and right side to control the volume, and the center to play/pause. Besides these hidden buttons, the only button on the speaker is the microphone switch on the back. This physical switch electronically turns the microphone on and off for privacy.
Lastly, reason No. 3: the Nest Audio sounds terrific for its size. It's still the middle child in Google's smart speaker, which means audio quality falls between a Nest Mini and a Home Max (why it's not rebranded as the Nest Max is beyond me). But in terms of sound, Google's says the speaker has more clarity across all frequencies and lower and higher volumes.
This boost in sound quality is largely due to the bigger drivers: a 75mm woofer and 19mm tweeter. In comparison, the Home had a 50mm "full range driver" and dual passive radiators to assist with bass.
Typically, bigger drivers push more air and allow for more bass. But larger and more powerful speakers wouldn't have been enough. Today, good sound needs good tuning, which means good software. And Google is really good with software.
What is good sound? Balanced frequencies? Louder volume? More clarity at lower volumes? Chan tells Input it's all of the above. Whereas the Google Home's sound was tuned using third-party software, Chan says the Nest Audio was tuned using its own in-house software. The result: clearer sound across the sound stage for all music genres at lower and higher volumes. IMO, the Nest Audio sounds way better than a Google Home and makes the Nest Mini sound unacceptable.
First up is the loudness test. We're listening for clarity at 100 percent volume. Usually, compact speakers sound like garbage at max volume. The Nest Audio does a good job of maintaining separation between the mids, highs, and lows. You'll hear there's less distortion.
It'd be negligent of me to not also mention the Google Assistant is faster. Google says the Assistant is 2x faster at controlling music than on Google Home. I don't know if it's that much faster, but the Assistant does feel a step speedier. Regular smart home stuff like controlling setting timers, checking the weather, and controlling my smart lights is more or less as snappy as on my Home and Nest Hub and Nest Mini.
The Nest Audio punches way above its size and price. It's a solid buy if you value sound quality, but also don't want to spend more than $100.
If you already own a Google Home and don't care for the extra sound clarity and stronger bass, you should save your money. Nest Mini owners: you deserve better sound, period.