Google Nest Audio speaker - adaptive EQ, onboard assistant, multi-room audio and more

[editor]

I won't be buying it but it sure seems nifty



Nest Audio will go on sale from October 15 and cost £89.99

https://store.google.com/product/nest_audio

 

[UnderOpenSky]

You need two of them for stereo sound?

 

[ska invita]

buy lots speakers - good sales angle!

i just have one and take it with me to the shower, bedroom etc

 

[skyscraper101]

I’ve got a nest mini. Only because they sent me one free for being a Spotify premium customer (I already use an Amazon Echo). I put it in the bedroom and mainly use it for radio.

However I still prefer the Echo because I feel ridiculous saying “Hey Google...” every time I want to do something on the nest.

It sounds trivial but “Alexa...” is just a way less twatty sounding command.

 

[skyscraper101]

Does anyone else have a Nest Mini device? I actually have two now (stereo pair) which when it works, sounds great. But it's plagued by disconnection issues which Google has known about since October, and still has no fix in sight.

[Updated] Google Nest Mini Wi-Fi disconnecting issue still troubles users

Google Nest Mini users are still complaining about the Wi-Fi disconnecting issue a year later since its launch and there's still no fix.

piunikaweb.com

I'm getting increasingly frustrated with it, seeing as I use it as a morning alarm for radio 4 and can not guarantee that it'd even connect half the time. The only thing that fixes it (temporarily) is unplugging both at the power, and rebooting. Which is, obviously, a major hassle.

I'm considering just replacing with Amazon echo devices which in my experience, provides a much better experience. Not to mention not having to say the ridiculous 'HEY GOOGLE' wake up command.

 

[skyscraper101]

Sadly I've now retired both of my Nest Minis. The constant loss of connection to wifi and having to reboot two separate speakers near on every single day was the final straw. The fact it's a known issue that has been unresolved for months doesn't give me any confidence that it'll be fixed anytime soon.

I replaced with an Amazon Echo Flex, connected to a pair of bookshelf speakers and so far it's brilliant. No connection loss at all, connects directly to my TV via bluetooth, plugs directly into the power socket, and just works.

I should say my dabbling with the google home ecosystem has been pretty uninspiring. I also returned a Google Nest Outdoor Camera recently too because it has a terrible UI and also suffered wifi loss and did not record to the quality I expected. I'm now back to just using Android TV which hasn't been without issues either but at least I can cast stuff from my phone.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Got a free nest hub from John Lewis for buying some stuff (retail price 60 quid). It's rubbish - you have to sell your soul to the devil to use it's functions by the look of it, so it's not much cop. Disabled the microphone as soon as I switched it on, for obvious reasons.

https://store.google.com/product/nest_hub_2nd_gen?hl=en-GB

 

[BoxRoom]

I’ll have it if you want to get shot of it!

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I’ll have it if you want to get shot of it!

It's currently serving as an alarm clock - I'll have to experiment with privacy settings before deciding what to do with it. But will PM you if I want rid.

I can only assume JL got a job lot of them on the cheap somehow - it's weird giving people 60 quids worth of stuff away.

 

[BoxRoom]

It's currently serving as an alarm clock - I'll have to experiment with privacy settings before deciding what to do with it. But will PM you if I want rid.

I can only assume JL got a job lot of them on the cheap somehow - it's weird giving people 60 quids worth of stuff away.

Cheers! Would genuinely like one so if you remember me if you want to chuck it out a window I'll grab a net

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Cheers! Would genuinely like one so if you remember me if you want to chuck it out a window I'll grab a net

Have to say the speaker sounds pretty good - decent heft to it. It's the privacy nightmare which is the main risk with this spyware. At least there is a physical switch on the back of the device to turn of the mics - better than relying on a software switch. Assuming it works properly...