Google's Gemini is powering new first-party and Walmart-branded smart speakers, marking the first third-party voice speaker revival since JBL's 2023 Authentics.
Google's smart speaker business went quiet after 2023. Now it's waking up on two fronts.
A product listing filed with the CSA, the body that oversees the Matter smart home standard, reveals a Walmart-branded "Onn Smart Speaker" built around Gemini voice controls. The device carries a 10-watt driver, a far-field microphone array, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, audio streaming via Google Cast, physical volume and playback controls, and a hardware microphone privacy switch. Walmart has not formally announced the product, and it has not appeared on the retailer's website or in stores.
This disclosure arrived alongside reports confirming the upcoming "Google Home Speaker," Google's first new first-party audio hardware in years. Taken together, the two devices point to a deliberate effort to rebuild a smart speaker ecosystem under Gemini, filling a gap that Google allowed to widen through much of this decade.
The third-party angle
The ecosystem around Google's voice platform largely collapsed in the Assistant era. 9to5Google notes that JBL's Authentics lineup, released in 2023, was the last notable third-party speaker with Google Assistant onboard. Before that, a wide range of consumer electronics brands produced Assistant-enabled hardware, but that wave receded as Google's hardware roadmap stalled and confidence in Assistant's trajectory faded.
The Walmart product signals that Google is reopening that licensing channel. The Onn Smart Speaker does not appear to compete on acoustic engineering; it packages Gemini voice intelligence into a commodity form factor. The mic privacy kill switch is a notable inclusion, one that has become standard consumer expectation since Amazon introduced one on Echo devices, per the CSA filing reviewed by 9to5Google.
Google is also modernizing Gemini's software layer at the same time. NewsBytesApp reports the company is testing a Gemini app overhaul featuring a pill-shaped prompt box with integrated voice input and Gemini Live, in active testing across Mac, Android, and the web. iOS users are beginning to see a Liquid Glass interface update. The simultaneous hardware and software pushes look coordinated rather than coincidental.
The competitive backdrop
Context from the broader AI race helps explain some of the timing. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly issued an internal "code red" in late 2025, redirecting teams to accelerate development in direct response to Google's Gemini 3, according to CNBC. Whether Gemini 3 is the specific version shipping in the new speaker hardware has not been confirmed by Google.
Google's original smart speaker strategy was never purely a hardware business. The Google Home and Nest Audio were distribution vehicles for Google Assistant, designed to establish a household footprint and compete with Amazon's Alexa platform. That strategy lost coherence as Google's confidence in Assistant wavered. Gemini is a structurally more capable artificial intelligence platform, and this hardware push is a second attempt to leverage model strength into the home.
The Walmart arrangement echoes a tactic from the early Assistant years, when Google licensed its voice platform to consumer electronics brands willing to absorb hardware margin risk in exchange for software differentiation. A mass-market retail partner reaches a buyer profile that Google's own branded hardware, priced higher and sold through narrower channels, typically does not. That mid-to-low price tier is also where Amazon Echo Dot has held dominant market position for years.
Whether Gemini's voice capabilities translate into a meaningfully better experience than Alexa or Siri at comparable hardware price points remains unproven. Contextual reasoning and smart home device compatibility are persistent weak points across all major artificial intelligence voice assistants. Google has a credible model advantage on paper. Converting that into a product that performs reliably on a 10-watt speaker in a noisy kitchen is a different challenge entirely.
If Walmart ships the Onn Smart Speaker before holiday 2026, Google will have its first real test of whether Gemini can accomplish what Google Assistant never managed: convert a software lead into lasting hardware market share.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Google Home Speaker?
Google's upcoming first-party smart speaker, the first new audio hardware the company has announced in years. It will run on Gemini AI and is expected to compete directly with Amazon Echo devices. Official specs and a launch date have not been announced.
What is the Walmart Onn Smart Speaker?
A Gemini-powered device found in a product listing filed with the CSA, which manages the Matter smart home standard. It features a 10-watt speaker, a far-field microphone array, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Google Cast audio streaming, and a hardware mic privacy switch. Walmart has not officially launched it.
What happened to third-party Google Assistant speakers?
A wide range of consumer electronics brands made Assistant-enabled speakers through the late 2010s and early 2020s. JBL's 2023 Authentics lineup was the last notable third-party release. The ecosystem contracted as Google's hardware strategy slowed and Assistant development lost momentum.
How does Gemini compare to Alexa in smart speakers?
Gemini is widely considered a more capable large language model than the artificial intelligence underlying Alexa. However, smart speaker performance also depends on latency, local device compatibility, and hardware quality at low cost points. Practical comparisons will require hands-on testing of shipping devices.