Brady Snyder / Android Authority
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More than anything else in Google’s current product portfolio, Google Home is among the most frustrating. We’re now 10 years into Google’s smart home platform, and while it should feel mature and robust at this stage in its lifecycle, it instead has never felt more precarious.
I say this as someone whose house is built around Google Home. My security cameras, thermostat, smart speakers, and smart displays are all made by Google. It’s the smart home ecosystem I chose years ago, and the one I’ve ultimately stuck with.
But there’s a lingering problem with Google Home: hardware. Google’s smart home hardware ambitions have been a pain point for a while now, but in 2026, they’ve never been more detrimental. Not only is the competition fiercer than ever, but Google just doesn’t seem to know how to respond. And at this point, I’m not sure when it will.
How would you grade Google Home at this point in 2026?
85 votes
The state of Google Home hardware in 2026
Sanuj Bhatia / Android Authority
Looking at Google’s current portfolio of smart home gadgets, you’d be led to believe the company has all but given up on making smart home hardware.
Google hasn’t released new battery-powered versions of the Nest Cam or Nest Doorbell since 2021. The Google TV Streamer 4K is over two years old and has only gotten more expensive, with no budget model below it. The most recent Nest Hub smart display is more than five years old, and the current Nest Wifi Pro debuted back in 2022.
We did get the new Google Home Speaker earlier this year, but only after a six-year wait following the Nest Audio’s launch in 2020. And while a new piece of hardware was nice to see, the Home Speaker was ultimately pretty underwhelming — and killed both the Nest Audio and Nest Mini upon its arrival.
Not every smart home gadget needs a new model every single year, but when Google waits up to six years in between product…