Google sent out images of its new Google Home Nest speaker a few hours after the contents of its FCC filing leaked online, confirming rumors that the company has redesigned its flagship Google Assistant-enabled speaker under the Nest brand.
An FCC listing published Wednesday night revealed a Google device labeled GXCA6. Not long after, 9to5Google discovered a series of images on Twitter (via @androidtv_rumor), showing off a fabric-swathed speaker matching that model number. With the cat out the bag, Google distributed a lifestyle shot to members of the media teasing the new speaker in a Cloud Blue finish.
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Recently certified by the FCC, here is our first look at GXCA6, the new @Google Nest Speaker, replacing the original Google Home. 😁 pic.twitter.com/Ltp1quPFqcJuly 9, 2020
In early June 9to5Google reported the existence of premium hands-free Google speaker codenamed 'Prince' and created to take on the Sonos One — one of the best smart speakers overall.
We hadn't heard much else, but noticed that the original Google Home speaker is "no longer available" from the Google Store.
It seems the pictured device, which is described on Twitter as the Google Nest Speaker, is in position to replace one of the company's first smart home products.
This doesn't come as much of a surprise — last year the company rebranded the compact second-generation Home Mini as the Google Nest Mini, and followed up the smart display Google Home Hub with the Google Nest Hub Max.
Like the other products in Google's Nest audio collection, 'Prince' comes covered by a chalk-colored fabric. The grille seems to wrap around the device lengthwise, suggesting the elliptical-shaped speaker will stand about 7 inches tall, though it's laid down flat for the images. It appears to have a physical mute toggle and power port, too.
Though it's an entirely fresh design for the Google Home, it fits in nicely among Google's current speaker lineup. Whether it has the performance prowess to compete with the $200 Sonos One or $99 Amazon Echo (3rd Gen) will require hands-on testing, but by the looks of it Google isn't playing around.
The company has a few other rumored devices in the works, including the Google Chromecast 4 Sabrina Android TV dongle and Google Pixel 4a. The latter is pegged for a July 15 launch based on the latest leaks, so we could see a mini hardware event happen then.
