The new Google Nest Audio smart speaker pre-orders bundles are now live

Google has been a key player in the smart speaker market for a while now, releasing compelling alternatives to Apple's HomePod and Amazon's Echo devices. The Nest Audio is the revamp of its Home speaker series and its now available for pre-order in the US and UK.

• USA: Nest Audio at Google Store $99.99
• UK: Nest Audio at Google Store £89.99
• Save $20/£20 when you buy two

The basics of any smart speakers should be, well, the speaker and the Nest Audio looks like it's going to deliver, with Google's Assistant on board for the "smart" part and a bespoke system that covers the "speaker" part. The sound will adapt to fill any room the Nest Audio is placed in, while supporting a wide array of radio and streaming services.

Stylistically, the Nest Audio blends into whatever setting you can think up. There's two colours on offer, white and black, depending on your taste and we happen to think the tall and slim design is very attractive, especially compared to the comparative bulkiness of Apple's HomePod. 

All together, Google has made an incredibly well-engineered and well-designed smart speaker that incorporates all of its Assistant-powered usefulness into a powerful speaker that can blast sound through any room. If you want even more sound, you can link multiple Nest Audios together, too.

The UK only has chalk (whitish-gray) or charcoal (black) color options, but the US also has green, pink and blue models, although Google has decided to name them sage, sand, and sky officially. The Google Nest Audio will be released on October 5.

Google Nest Audio | $99.99 (USA) / £89.99 (UK) at Google
Google makes some of the best hardware products going, an impressive feat for a software company and the Nest Audio is the latest example: sleek, powerful, subtle, with Assistant smarts built right in. A big challenge to HomePod and Echo devices. If you opt to buy two of the speakers you can save $20/£20. 

If you're looking to upgrade your speaker setup, or get a smart speaker for the first time, the Nest Audio is definitely worth a look, offering a cheaper alternative to HomePod with a sleeker design than Echo, at least to our eyes.

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