Google's first Gemini-powered Home Speaker is here, and it's designed to talk more like a human
Google has unveiled its first Home Speaker powered by Gemini AI. The smart speaker brings more natural conversations, improved voice controls, AI-powered smart home features, and enhanced audio performance starting at $99.99.
Published By: Deepti Ratnam | Published: Jun 18, 2026, 09:00 AM (IST) | Edited: Jun 18, 2026, 09:19 AM (IST)
Google has officially launched its first Home Speaker, built specifically for Gemini. This marks the next phase for company's smart home strategy. With the launch of Home Speaker, the tech giant is aiming at bringing advanced AI-powered conversations, smart home capabilities, and improved voice controls for users.
The Google Home Speaker is now available for pre-order and users can book it via company's official website. It will begin shipping on 25 June, 2026. Priced at $99.99, Google's Home Speaker come equipped with Gemini' artificial intelligence capabilities with redesigned audio experience. This makes the overall interactions more natural and intuitive.
Gemini brings a more conversational voice assistant
What lies at the heart of the new Google Home Speaker is Gemini for Home, which is company's latest AI-powered voice assistant. This doesn't work like traditional voice assistants that require users to remember specific commands. Rather Gemini for Home is designed in such a way that it understands natural language and conversational requests.
Google says, you can give more flexible commands, such as:
Asking the speaker to turn off all lights except a specific lamp
This means, you can combine multiple actions into one single command or request. In addition, Gemini will also understand corrections made during a sentence. This will allow you to change your commands without starting over.
According to Google, the assistant is capable enough of handling complex queries by reasoning through multiple piece of information.
To understand this is a better way, suppose you asked about the weather during an upcoming sport event, then Gemini will determine the event schedule, location, and expected weather conditions before providing you any answer.
Besides this, Google has introduced 10 new natural sounding voices, allowing users to have more personalization options when setting up the assistant.
More natural conversations with Gemini
One of the biggest highlights of the Google Home Speaker is its ability to maintain conversational context. The assistant can remember recent parts of any conversation and makes the follow up questions feel more natural.
This is called Continued Conversational feature, allowing users to continue speaking after receiving a response without repeatedly saying the wake phrase. The feature is available across all supported languages.
If you subscribe to Google Home Premium, then you can access additional AI capabilities through Gemini Live. The feature enables free flowing conversations where users can brainstorm ideas, engage in human like interactions, switch topics, and interrupt responses.
New AI-powered smart home features
In addition, Google is rolling out a number of smart home features powered by AI using its high-end offering.
Users can type in a question and Camera History Search will try to answer it based on recent activity recorded by compatible Nest cameras. Homeowners can find out if a gate was left open, see what had been going on, or learn more about pets and people they know who had been around the home.
A summary of household activity occurring while the user was away is displayed with another feature, Home Briefs. The aim is to provide a snapshot of the situation to homeowners without having to watch video from the camera.
The new features further tie into Google's larger smart home continuum.
Created for music, podcasts, and entertainment
In addition to artificial intelligence, Google claims that the Home Speaker has been built to have improved audio. The device has 360-degree balanced sound to deliver uniform sound in a room.
By adapting to various acoustic environments, advanced microphone processing helps Gemini to better understand commands.
The speaker can be used with Google TV Streamer Devices as well. Users can plug two Home Speakers together into a streamer, which supports spatial surround sound to set up a home theater system.
New design and colour options
Google has updated its Home Speaker with a new design that's enveloped by a special 3D-knit textile fabric. It has been designed with sustainability in mind, the company says, and the sleek design blends in seamlessly with various spaces.
The speaker will be offered in two color styles, Hazel and Porcelain, worldwide, and in the U.S., in three additional color variations: Jade and Berry.
When Gemini is listening, processing requests or responding, a new light ring will appear under the speaker, giving visual feedback. Users may turn off the microphone anytime with a dedicated hardware switch, for further privacy.
Main competitors:
| Device | Company | Key strength |
| Amazon Echo (4th Gen) | Amazon | Alexa ecosystem, smart home integration |
| Echo Studio | Amazon | Premium audio and Alexa AI |
| Apple HomePod (2nd generation) | Apple | Siri integration and Apple ecosystem |
| Apple HomePod mini | Apple | Compact design and HomeKit support |
| Sonos Era 100 | Sonos | High-quality audio with voice assistant support |
| Sonos Era 300 | Sonos | Spatial audio and premium sound |
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