Forget Amazon Echo — new Google Nest speaker just leaked at Walmart
Google Nest Audio is expected to debut at next week's Pixel 5 event
It’s not just the Pixel 5 that’s making an appearance next Wednesday (Sept. 30) during a Google event. The company’s invitation mentions other products, including “our new Chromecast [and] latest smart speaker.” A retailer may have already let the cat out of the bag about that latter product.
Twitter user Marcos Frausto spotted some prematurely posted packaging for a product called the Nest Audio on Walmart’s shelves. Apparently, the retailer was stocking the product ahead of the Pixel 5 event, according to a 9to5Google report.
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This new leak comes by way of Walmart stocking the product ahead of the Sept. 30 Pixel 5 even. We've also seen renders of the speaker in white and charcoal, but with this sighting in the wild, it looks like the only further confirmation we need about the Nest Audio is Google’s formal announcement.
Looks like walmart jumped the gun on the unreleased speaker from google. @Google @Walmart @madebygoogle #NestAudio #GoogleNest #Leak #HeyGoogle @MKBHD pic.twitter.com/aUrExg0CwxSeptember 24, 2020
The Nest Audio photo doesn’t reveal much apart from the familiar Google packaging — you certainly won’t see a price. But there are some educated guesses floating around online, however, thanks to a recent Lowe's product listing that prices the speaker at just $100.
WinFuture's Roland Quandt originally uncovered the listing, which also comes with an official description from Google touting the device's ability to "hear music the way it should sound, with crisp vocals and powerful bass that fills the room."
While the page is still online to be verified, there's no pricing information available there anymore. Still, it appears that we’ve all been tipped off about what Google has planned for Nest Audio on Sept. 30. That doesn't mean there's no room for some additional surprises during the upcoming Google event, however.
We'll likely see the introduction of the new Chromecast, which has also appeared online courtesy of leaks. Previously codenamed Google Chromecast 4, the device will reportedly be called Chromecast with Google TV, and it appears to be a pretty major overhaul of the classic Chromecast dongle with a sleek new oval design. The new casting device also looks to come with a remote and should feature variety of colors.
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As far as what the rest of the Pixel 5 event will showcase (beyond the phone of course), there could still be room for hardware that hasn’t previously shown up in a store or leaked outright. We’ll just have to keep our eyes and ears open about what’s left to come from Google.
The Sept. 30 Google event comes a week after Amazon unveiled a series of updates to its Alexa-powered speakers and devices, including a new version of the Amazon Echo smart speaker.
Brittany Vincent has been covering video games and tech for over 13 years for publications including Tom's Guide, MTV, Rolling Stone, CNN, Popular Science, Playboy, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, and more. She's also appeared as a panelist at video game conventions like PAX East and PAX West and has coordinated social media for companies like CNET. When she's not writing or gaming, she's looking for the next great visual novel in the vein of Saya no Uta. You can follow her on Twitter @MolotovCupcake.