The Best Google Home Speaker (2026)

Google’s smart speaker approach has always been minimalist. With the Google Home Speaker’s arrival in June, the tech giant’s lineup is now simpler than ever: just a single speaker and two smart displays.

That’s not the only change Google has made to its smart home ecosystem this year. It also rolled out a new AI-powered assistant, Google Gemini for Home, replacing the longtime Google Assistant. Google Gemini is compatible with the majority of Google’s existing lineup, and the newest speaker is made with Gemini in mind. There are some fees involved if you want its most powerful features, but you can use it for free, unlike Amazon’s similar new assistant, Alexa+.

As for which smart speaker or display to get, or which assistant to use, here’s everything you need to know.

Updated July 2026: I’ve completely rewritten and reorganized this guide after the launch of the Google Home Speaker and the rollout of Google Gemini for Home.

If you’re in the market for a Google smart speaker, there’s only one worth picking up: the new Home Speaker. If that name sounds familiar, that’s because it’s the same as Google’s original smart speaker from 2016. The name is a throwback, but the new design looks more like an Apple HomePod Mini than any of Google’s past speakers, besides the brand’s consistent use of fun colors.

Google’s always had a limited range of speakers compared to Amazon, but its lineup is even more streamlined now, as this single speaker has replaced both the Nest Audio and Nest Mini. It’s smaller than the former but taller than the latter to pack in more well-rounded sound for its size.

Overall, it’s a great speaker and my new favorite overall smart speaker. It’s got impressive sound with a 58-mm full-range driver, and the bass didn’t feel lacking. Gemini’s answers are detailed, and its speech patterns sound impressively human. Gemini did slightly better at answering my questions than Alexa+. There’s also a mode called Gemini Live you can toggle on by saying “Hey Google, let’s chat” for a more active conversation. It’s only available by subscription, but the speaker comes with six months free of Google Home’s standard plan. (More on Gemini Live and the pricing plans below.)

There are touch controls to adjust the volume, though you’ll need to tap the device to get the little lights to appear—right side for volume up, and left side for volume down—and you’ll have to use the power cord as a reference to know which side is which. You can also tap the top to pause music or Gemini’s voice responses.

I’m hoping we’ll see a new Google smart display designed for Gemini soon, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t. Google really doesn’t update its lineup often, and the Nest Hub Max from 2019 is still perfectly serviceable for its age.

This smart display is a favorite of mine because it doubles as a digital photo frame. You’ll need your photos saved to Google Photos to do this, but you can upload up to 15 GB for free. (That’s the free storage limit for your entire Google account, not the photos section alone, so you’ll have less if your Gmail or Google Drive is filled to the brim.) You can seamlessly share photos with your display without needing to separately upload them like you would with other smart displays.

The Nest Hub Max has two 10-watt tweeters and a 30-watt woofer for solid sound. I think the sound lacks some bass, especially compared to newer smart speakers, but it’s fine for casual listening. The 10-inch screen is a great size for following a recipe, and you can stream video content and make video calls with the 6.5-megapixel camera that has a wide 127-degree field of view. The Nest Hub Max is also compatible with both Google Gemini for Home and with Gemini Live if you have a subscription.

Google’s smart speakers have all been powered by Google Assistant until this year. Google Gemini for Home is a version of Google’s AI assistant (you’ve seen the Gemini-powered AI summaries at the top of your Google search results) that’s designed for its smart home devices. It’s been rolled out to nearly all of its existing devices for free (with exceptions below).

Compared to Google Assistant, Gemini sounds much more human in its diction and speaking style (there are also multiple voices to choose from) and gives more detailed answers. Sometimes I found the answers a little lengthy; asking whether Vegemite goes bad led to a reply with a paragraph about how the salty product is shelf-stable, so it doesn’t truly expire the way other foods can but that I should still look out for mold if moisture or other food materials have gotten into jar. But overall, Gemini works well and controls devices around my house easily.

The only downside is that while it’s free, unlike Amazon’s newer Alexa+ assistant, some features are behind a paywall. The new Google Home Premium plan bundles the subscriptions for smart home assistants with storage plans for smart home video products, such as the Nest camera and doorbell. That means a subscription can get you a more powerful assistant and video storage for one price if you also own any of those devices.

There’s the standard plan ($10/month or $100/year) that includes 30 days of event-based video history, intelligent alerts for familiar faces and packages, Gemini Live, and an AI-based tool to help you create smart routines for your household. Then there’s the advanced plan ($20/month or $200/year) that includes 60 days of event-based video history, 10 days of 24/7 video history, descriptive notifications, searchable video history, video event descriptions, and daily summaries of recorded events. It also includes Gemini Live and the AI routine-building tool that you get with the cheaper plan.

As for Gemini Live, it works well enough, and it handled various conversation topics ranging from my 3-year-old’s development to what happened on the previous day’s Love Island episode, but it’s not a feature I’ve had a desire to use outside testing. Maybe it’s one you’d like, but that’s up to you to decide.

Most of Google’s speakers are compatible with Gemini for Home, but not all of them have Gemini Live capability, even if you have a subscription. Here’s a breakdown of which ones have access:

• Google Home (2016) – Gemini
• Google Home Mini (2017) – Gemini
• Google Home Max (2017) – Gemini
• Google Nest Mini (2019) – Gemini
• Google Nest Audio (2019) – Gemini and Gemini Live
• Google Nest Hub (2018) – Gemini and Gemini Live
• Google Nest Hub Max (2019) – Gemini and Gemini Live
• Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) (2021) – Gemini and Gemini Live
• Google Pixel Tablet (2023) and Speaker Base (2024) – None
• Google Home Speaker (2026) – Gemini and Gemini Live

The most notable exclusion is one of Google’s most recent devices, the Google Pixel Tablet. The tablet does have access to the Gemini app and can use Gemini as a tablet when undocked, but you won’t be able to use Gemini as the voice assistant when the tablet is docked in its speaker base. This product has been disappearing from shelves, so it’s likely Google won’t continue selling it, at least not as a smart home device.

• Google Nest Audio for $95: Launched in 2020, this was Google’s previous flagship smart speaker. It’s still available in limited colors at Walmart, but Google isn’t producing more, and it’ll likely become harder to find. It’s overall a good speaker, but if you’re going to spend $100, you might as well get the newest model to make sure you don’t miss out on new features in the future. If you already own one, it does have both Gemini and Gemini Live compatibility.
• Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) for $100: This is a fine display, but the screen is a little small to use comfortably. It’s best as a bedside device since it can track your sleep without needing to be on your body, and there’s no camera. Availability is low, though; it’s rapidly going out of stock at third-party retailers and might disappear altogether soon. It has both Gemini and Gemini Live compatibility, so if you already have one you’ll get access (with a subscription for the latter, of course).
• Google Nest Mini (2nd Gen) for $80: I wouldn’t bother buying this model, since the limited ones still available cost much more than it’s worth (it used to be on sale for $25) and you might as well spend a little more to get the new, more powerful iteration. It does have both Gemini and Gemini Live compatibility.
• Google Pixel Tablet for $399: This is only available now as a tablet with no speaker base. It also doesn’t have Gemini for Home capabilities, so I wouldn’t recommend buying it as a smart home device, even if you see it sold with the speaker base.

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