The end of Nest? Google’s mysterious speaker stars in new leak that hints at smart home shakeup

• New leaks may have revealed Google's smart home plans
• An unannounced device is referred to as the Google Home Speaker
• Google Home Premium plans are apparently on the way

Google is shaking up its smart home offerings, with improved AI and new devices on the way, and a couple of fresh leaks point towards an upcoming speaker, a change in branding, and a new perk for Google One.

First up, the team at 9to5Google has been digging into the code for the Google Home app on Android, finding a hidden reference to something called the "Google Home Speaker" – perhaps a rather obvious name for the next smart speaker from Google.

We don't really get much more on the device, apart from the name, but there is a mention of a "360 audio" feature. It perhaps signals an end to the Nest branding for these gadgets, and a return back to the old Google Home names instead.

It's possible that we've already seen this speaker, because something small, round, and speaker-like was spotted in one of the promo clips used at the Made by Google event that launched the Pixel 10 – though Google didn't actually refer to it at all.

Google Home Premium

Another discovery from 9to5Google in the same app: there's reference to a "Google Home Premium" and "Google Home Premium Advanced" plans, which are presumably rebrands of the current Nest Aware and Nest Aware Plus plans.

These subscriptions give you access to recorded video clips in the cloud, taken by your Nest cameras, as well as some smarter alerts (like the ability to distinguish between a dog barking and a person talking in the notifications you get).

As per the information seen by 9to5Google, the lower tier – Google Home Premium – could come as part of certain Google One subscriptions. This is already the case for Nest Aware in the UK, so watch this space for updates.

Google One subscriptions start at $1.99 / £1.59 / AU$2.99 per month, and give you more cloud storage, access to more powerful AI tools, discounts on the Google Store, and extras such as Fitbit Premium.

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