Google is a leader in so many aspects of our digital lives. If you think about it, it’s nearly impossible, or at least very difficult, to get through a day on the grid without encountering multiple facets of the Google ecosystem, from your mobile device to search and office productivity. But when it comes to audio, the Google empire feels conspicuously incomplete to us. That’s why we created our Google audio wishlist for 2024.
1 A new home audio speaker
Nest Audio is almost four years old!
If you’ve built an automated home around Google Assistant and Nest products, you might’ve been left wanting something more in the speaker department. While the company’s Nest Audio is generally pleasant-sounding, there’s only so much a $99 speaker with a 3.5-inch woofer can do. Google’s Home Max once answered the needs of more serious listeners, but the company retired it in 2021 and hasn’t since offered a suitable replacement.
For inspiration, Google should take a look at the new and excellent Sonos Era 300. It’s a full-featured and powerful smart speaker with Dolby Atmos support for the growing body of tracks that leverage the immersive audio standard. That said, some users might find the Era 300’s design a bit inelegant, and it’s not exactly a bargain at $499. Ergo, we’d like to see Google come in with a sleeker Atmos speaker that offers whole-home audio integration and versatile home theater capabilities at a slightly lower price point than the Era 300.
2 A Dolby Atmos soundbar
Google’s missing out on a booming market
Today, soundbars account for around a quarter of home audio purchases by volume. It’s easy to see why. They’re simple to install, they don’t require a lot of configuration, and good ones can deliver truly immersive home theater and music experiences. Unfortunately, Google has thus far been a no-show at the soundbar party, and it’s getting late.
Source: Sennheiser
If the soundbar category is ripe enough for major players like Bose, Vizio, and Sonos, then why not Google? All three of those brands offer multiple soundbars, including new Atmos models. Admittedly, there’s no shortage of good soundbar options on the market, but that’s little consolation if you’ve built the rest of your smart home around Google solutions and want to keep it that way for seamless integration.
3 Over-the-ear Pixel headphones
Pixel Buds Ultra?
Earbuds are great for portable applications, but when it comes to listening at home or at the office, we generally prefer the sound and fit of full-size over-the-ear headphones. With the Pixel Buds Pro, Google demonstrated that it can make great-sounding earbuds with effective ANC. Now, we’d like to see the same expertise applied to an over-the-ear model from the Alphabet giant.
Our dream Pixel headphones would, of course, offer audiophile-grade sound quality with balanced and detailed performance. For long sessions, comfort is key, and that’s where Google could offer something that strikes a good balance between a tight seal for ANC and a feathery fit for all-day wear. Excellent on-board mics would make Google headphones a natural pairing for Google Assistant and myriad office tasks, from conference calls to blocking out the chatter of kids or co-workers.
4 Home theater integration
We expected this one years ago
Way back in 2020, Google said that it was working on a feature that would enable Nest speakers to function as home theater speakers for Chromecast devices. The promise here is that you could use any array of Nest speakers to create a home theater sound system powered by your Chromecast device. Such a system would, of course, include support for Google Assistant and the Google Home app.
Source: Sonos
As things stand today, a workaround might allow you to link your Nest speakers and Chromecast device via Google TV. However, some users report problems with the functionality and it doesn’t work with all devices. That might help explain why Google still hasn’t done an official roll-out. We’d love to see this feature get a proper — and functional — release.
5 Google Assistant with Bard AI and cool audio features
AI all the things
Lately, we’ve been talking quite a bit about Bard AI, its fast-moving feature set, and the prospect of Bard capabilities coming to Google Assistant. As it stands today, Assistant is largely task- and command-based, and while it works well, its scope is fairly limited. In other words, Google Assistant isn’t very intelligent yet.
Sure, you can fire up audio playback on Nest devices or issue a command through your Pixel Buds Pro, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Imagine an AI-driven Google Assistant that can anticipate the media you want to play based on factors such as your activity across the Google ecosystem or the tone of your voice. It’s not even far-fetched to anticipate that Assistant or a re-branded successor might compose custom music to match your routines and moods.
Nothin’ to it but to do it!
Google caught our attention with the launch of the excellent-sounding Pixel Buds Pro. Now, we want to see the company fill its other audio gaps. In 2024, we’d love to see Google offer a large smart speaker, an Atmos soundbar, Pixel headphones, and seamless home theater integration between Chromecast devices and Nest speakers. We also hope to see Bard AI technology leveraged to deliver next-gen music customization in ways we can’t even imagine.
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