Google's latest smart speaker -- called the Google Home Speaker -- has arrived, starting at $100. It's the first new speaker line Google has introduced since 2019, offering a more affordable alternative to Apple's HomePod and competing with Amazon's smaller Echo speakers and the $100 HomePod mini. 

The Google Home Speaker has dropped the Nest name, for reasons I don't really understand, but it looks like a Nest Mini all grown up, measuring about 3.5 inches tall and 4 inches wide. It houses a 58-millimeter, full-range driver for 360-degree sound (specs similar to the HomePod mini). Google says the speaker delivers 2.5 times more bass than the tiny Nest Mini and can pair with Google TV streamers if you prefer a home theater setup.

Those aren't specs that can compete with something like an Echo Studio or Wiim Sound, but Google has different goals in mind with its Home Speaker. Equipped with a Quad Core A55 2.0 GHz processor, the speaker is designed for Gemini for Home, Google's AI reframed for smart home spaces. The free version promises richer, better answers than the old Google Assistant, although my own experience with Gemini for Home has been mixed so far (the voice assistant struggles with some simple tasks and answers compared to Alexa Plus, and we'll have to see what Siri AI brings to the table). 

But if you upgrade to a Google Home Premium subscription, starting at $10 per month, you can unlock more powerful Gemini for Home features, including deeper interactions, continued conversations without awkward wake word pauses and various activity summaries if you use Nest security cameras. It's nice, but I'm not entirely convinced it's worth the extra cost.

The pricing for these AI features is currently a gray area, and each company has its own approach. Amazon is giving out Alexa Plus for free if you have a Prime subscription, but it's incredibly expensive otherwise. Apple is hedging, saying some future Siri AI features may require a bigger iCloud subscription, but the company has been very light on details so far.

To me, $10 a month to enable a slightly more advanced AI doesn't seem worthwhile, but Google is offering a deal that makes it easier to try out Gemini for Home's full capabilities. Buy a Google Home Speaker within the next few months, and you'll get six months of a Google Home Premium subscription for free, so you can get a lengthy trial of these features before committing. On a side note, I do like the changes Google has made to the Google Home app over the past year, and this speaker should be able to control most connected home devices, even without a subscription. 

In addition to all the smarts, the speaker has an LED ring at the bottom to indicate its status and capacitive touch controls for manual adjustments (including a mic-off button for privacy). And if you like color, the smart speaker comes in more options than the Nest ever did, such as berry, jade and hazel. I'll be trying the speaker out in the coming weeks and will report back on how it compares--  and whether it deserves a spot on your table, with or without Gemini.