Google Upgrades Smart Speaker Lineup After Six-Year Wait

Google has refreshed its smart speaker lineup for the first time in six years, and a review from the New York Post asks the question many longtime owners of the company's speakers are likely asking too: was the wait worth it?

"Google finally upgraded its smart speaker after 6 years — was it worth the wait?" — New York Post

That headline framing is the central tension of the Post's review, which arrives after years in which Google's speaker hardware sat largely unchanged while the company pushed software and Assistant updates to existing devices instead. The full review, including whatever hands-on testing informed its verdict, is available at the link above; details beyond the headline's framing were not included in the material reviewed for this report.

How Long Has It Been Since Google's Last Major Speaker Update?

Six years, according to the Post's reporting. That gap is notable in a hardware category where competitors have cycled through multiple generations of smart speakers and displays in the same window. The Post does not specify in its headline what triggered the new release or what, if anything, changed about Google's product strategy during the interim. Readers looking for the specific feature list, pricing, or release date should consult the original review directly, since those figures were not part of the source material available for this explainer.

Does a New Speaker Need to Support the Matter Standard?

For shoppers deciding whether to replace an aging Google speaker, compatibility with the Matter smart home standard is one of the more practical questions to ask before buying. Matter is designed to let devices from different manufacturers work on the same network without requiring a separate app or hub for each brand, a goal detailed in HTT News' coverage of a recent Matter update. A speaker that supports Matter can generally serve as a control point for lights, plugs, and locks from multiple brands, which matters more to a multi-device household than raw audio specs alone.

Whether Google's refreshed speaker supports the current version of Matter was not addressed in the headline-level reporting available here. Shoppers should check the product listing or the full Post review for that detail before assuming compatibility.

How Should Owners Name and Organize a New Speaker in a Smart Home App?

Once a new speaker is on the network, setup is only half the job. As HTT News has previously explained, giving devices clear, readable names inside a smart home app makes voice commands and automations easier to manage, especially in households running several speakers or displays across different rooms. A speaker labeled "Kitchen Speaker" rather than a default factory name reduces the odds of a voice command triggering the wrong device, and it keeps automation scenes legible months later when a routine needs adjusting.

That naming discipline becomes more relevant, not less, as households add newer hardware. A six-year-old speaker being swapped out is also an opportunity to rename and reorganize an entire room's device list rather than simply dropping a new unit into an old naming scheme.

What Details Remain Unconfirmed?

Several specifics readers would want before buying, including exact pricing, audio hardware changes, and full Matter certification status, are not confirmed in the source material reviewed for this piece. The Post's own review is the authoritative document on those points, and readers evaluating whether to upgrade should treat the headline as a framing device rather than a full specification sheet.

What is confirmed, per the Post's reporting, is the timeline: six years between Google's prior smart speaker hardware and this update. For a product category where software updates often substitute for new hardware, that gap is itself the headline's main news.

At a Glance

• Reported gap since Google's last major smart speaker hardware update: six years, per the New York Post.
• Outlet publishing the review: New York Post.
• Confirmation of Matter support or pricing: not included in the headline-level material available.