Google isn’t expected to announce its next smart speaker until Sept. 30 during its Launch Night In event, but it apparently that hasn’t stopped Walmart from spilling the beans a week early.
According to Marcos Frausto who posted photos of the device on Twitter, it seems a local Walmart decided to stock and display Google’s upcoming smart speaker—which will apparently be called Nest Audio—prior to its scheduled debut next week. Based on the box art, this Nest Audio device looks like a dead ringer for the teaser image Google released earlier this summer, so while it hasn’t been officially confirmed, it’s a pretty safe bet this is legit.
On Reddit user throwGNestAudio claims they managed to pick one up at a local Walmart and posted images of the device and its manual as proof. The user claims the new speaker “blows the original Google home out of the water by a very, very wide margin” and is comparable with Ikea’s Sonos compatible Symfonisk speakers.
The reddit user claims they purchased the new Nest Audio for $100 and an earlier leak from a Lowe’s product database discovered by Roland Quandt also suggests that the Nest Audio will cost $100. Furthermore, a snippet from a product description from inside Lowe’s database indicates that like other Google/Nest smart speakers, the Nest Audio will come with Google Assistant integration and the ability to stream music from various sources.
Meanwhile, in other Google product leak news, user jsterninja on Reddit posted a short video showing what appears to be Google’s next Chromecast device, which has been detailed in previous leaks under the codename Sabrina.
With two of the three products that Google was planning to unveil next week having already been spotted in the wild, at this point it seems like there’s a good chance Google’s entire showcase may get spoiled before its products ever take the stage. The only things we’re missing now is more info on the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G.
Either way, stayed tuned for more coverage and official info on Google’s fall product launch event next week on Sept. 30 at 2PM ET.