Google must admit that it has a Google Home -hardware problem

For everything that Google seems to have been good with this next chapter of Google Home, there is one area that is still noticeably lacking: hardware. Specific, smart speaker and smart display hardware.

This is an area where Google has been struggling for a long time, and although taking steps to improve, I think it’s time for Google to acknowledge that it still doesn’t do enough.

Of all Google Home News yesterday, Google announced a new smart speaker. It is called the Google Home speaker and in general it seems like a solid offer. It has a nice mesh design that is supplied in good colors, 360 audio, stereo pairs and adapted processing to process Gemini assignments as quickly as possible. And you get all of that for the very reasonable price of $ 99.

I recently wrote about my excitement for the new Google Home speaker, so why am I suddenly like that? The speaker himself still sounds promising, but it is Google’s release strategy that I just can’t wrap my head.

In the run -up to yesterday’s announcement, we expected that this new speaker would be released somewhere this year, probably in October or November. However, Google has decided not to do that. Instead, the Google Home speaker will not go on sale until the spring of 2026.

At the earliest, this means that the Google Home speaker will hit the shopping shelves within about five months. However, if Google does not release the speaker until the late spring, we can wait up to eight months.

Google says that this is intentional because the company will be able to concentrate its efforts on rolling out Gemini on existing smart speakers/displays before adding another speaker to the mix. And although Google may think that that is a valid excuse, I disagree.

This is Google that we are talking about and a trillion dollar company and one of the largest technical brands in the world. If Google is really unable to add Gemini to a handful of ExisitNG -speaker and display models, while at the same time this new Google speaker from Home Home is launching, that does not bring much confidence in the Gemini out roll.

Moreover, if Google really needs an uninterrupted time to concentrate on the ExisitNG -speaker/Display hardware, why would you now take the trouble to announce a new speaker? Why not wait until it is actually ready to launch? This strategy of announcing the Google Home speaker months before it is ready for release, it seems that Google is not prepared for the next major phase of Google Home, and that is not the image that the company can afford to convey now.

There is another element that is worth talking about, and it is what Google not announce yesterday.

In itself, the new Google Home speaker looks good – even great. But Google needs more than a single mention in its smart speaker and display portfolio; The company needs a complete overhaul.

The Google Home speaker is a replacement for the Nest -Audio for all purposes. It is Google’s Baseline smart speaker and the “standard” choice for getting a Gemini device in your home. That is perhaps the most important basis for Google to cover, but there are more gaps that the company has to fulfill.

Where is Google’s new budget smart speaker, something to replace the aging nest mini? What about a new Premium speaker option for people who really care about audio quality? And did Google forget that it also has two models of smart displays that successors desperately need?

Google has said nothing about extra smart home -hardware outside the speaker of Google Home, and seeing how difficult it is apparently for Google to put that on the market, it makes me nervous about the implementation of Google for future speakers and displays – assuming that it even has plans for them in the first place.

Google’s lack of readyness here is all the more clearly against the background of Amazon’s newest echo refurbishing. On Tuesday, Amazon announced two new smart speakers (the Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio) and two new smart displays (the Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11). They are all designed for different target groups and price ranges, are now available for pre-order and will generally be available in mid-November, while supplementing an even larger portfolio of other speaker and display options.

You could claim that Amazon’s Smart Speaker/Display -Line -Up is complicated (and I have my own problems with Alexa as a virtual assistant), but I cannot help to admire Amazon’s dedication to consistently release new hardware. In recent years we have seen real innovation in Echo speakers and displays. For comparison: Google is struggling to release its own, relatively simple Smart Home speaker.

All that said, I want to give Google credit where it owes. What we have seen of the re -designed Google Home app looks really impressive, just like many of the new Gemini options. And as soon as it is launched within a few months, I have high expectations of the Google Home speaker.

Google would never solve his smart home -exciting one day, and I certainly did not expect the company to do this yesterday with its Google Home announcements. However, I still think that it is fair to be underwhelmed and worry about the future of Google’s Smart Home -hardware.

A delay of five to eight months before the Google Home speaker is not a good sign. The announcement of Google of a single smart speaker, without clear plans for a larger portfolio renewal, is far from encouraging. I want to succeed desperately the next chapter of Google Home, but a robust hardware -up -up is the key to that happens. And, at the moment, at least Google has to prove that it can deliver that front.