How Good is the Google Nest Audio really?

Google Nest Audio

Google rebranded their voice assistant device from ‘Google Home’ to ‘Google Nest Audio’ in 2020. Google’s new voice assistant ‘Nest Audio’ shows significant improvements to the old ‘Google Assistant’. This review focuses on the Google Nest Audio (2020 version) and reviews its performance. The blog evaluates sound quality, design and smart home features to measure performance.

Google Nest Audio Technical Features

Design

In terms of design, the Nest Audio is sleek, minimalistic, and approachable. It uses fabric material as a cover, giving it a modern and stylish look. The bottom of the voice assistant is made up of rubber, which ensures its stability when music is being played.

Google’s Nest Audio is available in five colours: Sky, Chalk, Sand, Sage (light green) and charcoal. Therefore, you can pick the colour that matches the interior of your home the best. The different colours allow to seamlessly blend this voice assistant into any home decor making it visually appealing. The material and build quality leave the impression of a premium product. Google’s Nest Audio is compact (175mm high, 124mm wide, 78mm deep), however, this does not negatively impact the sound quality.

Audio

The Nest Audio is well-known for its impressive audio performance. The Nest Audio is 75% louder and has 50% stronger bass than ‘Google Home’. The 19mm tweeter is responsible for consistent high-frequency coverage and clear vocals, whilst the 75mm mid-woofer brings the bass. The bass response is outstanding, delivering punchy lows without overpowering the mid and high frequencies. The results are even and balanced frequency responses, especially in the mids, providing a rich and immersive audio experience.

Whilst listening to your favorite music, podcast, or audiobook, the Nest Audio delivers clear, loud, and punchy audio. This makes your home feel like a live concert.

Smart Features

As a Google product, the Nest Audio comes with Google Assistant. This is one of the most capable voice assistants on the market. Google assistant can play music, set reminders, control smart home devices, and much more. It also works well with other Google Nest and Google Home products, allowing a seamless smart home experience. The on-device processing makes the Google Assistant responses faster and more reliable. In addition, Google added another far-field microphone to their Nest Audio, to make the voice assistant more receptive to verbal commands, especially when music is being played.

Google’s Nest Audio can easily be connected with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the Google Home app allows you to control all your devices for a multi-room audio experience.

Google Nest Audio User’s Experience

Setting up the Nest Audio is straightforward and user-friendly. All you need is the Google Home app on your smartphone that guides you through the process.

Additionally, controls on the Nest Audio are easy to understand. Tapping the center, will play, pause or stop any media, end phone calls or stop an alarm/timer. Tapping the right side increases the volume and the left side of the Nest Audio reduces the volume. The maximum volume is 20. Next to the power cord there is a switch, which turns the microphone on or off and an orange display will indicate that the microphone is turned off.  

Furthermore, you can improve your experience by pairing two Nest Audio devices together. With stereo pairing two Nest Audios, the sound experience is even greater. The design of the voice assistant is responsible for this, as the tweeter targets its audio output the direction it is facing. The purchase of two Nest Audios can still be cheaper than one premium voice assistant. Additionally, Google has further tools such as the Google Nest mini or the Nest Hub (2^nd Gen), which can improve the functions of the Nest Audio.

Privacy

Privacy is a concern with any smart home device, and Google has taken steps to address this. The Nest Audio has a switch on the back that physically disconnects the microphones, giving you peace of mind when you want privacy.

Could the Google Nest Audio be Improved?

Despite all the positive features, the Google Nest Audio is also not perfect and there is certainly area for improvement.

The first criticism is that there are no proximity LED’s to give a visual response when adjusting the volume. The mute button is located on the back. This may lead to confusion when you forget that you have muted the device but try to give commands. The Nest Audio also falls short of compatibility with Alexa, which could be improved to provide greater value to users. Finally, even though connecting the voice assistant with the Wi-Fi can be done easily, a considerable amount of time is required to navigate opt-ins and disclaimers for Google services.

Value for Money

As every voice assistant, the Nest Audio has some drawbacks, however, these are just minor. The Nest Audio’s price is set at £89,99 offering excellent value for money. The smart features are outstanding as well as the audio performance. Whether you’re just starting your smart home journey or looking to expand your existing setup, the Nest Audio is a worthy investment.

If you are still unsure about the performance of the Google Nest Audio, you can have a look at the comparison with Amazon’s ‘Alexa’ and the Apple ‘Homepod’.