Michael Crider
Chromecast and Nest gadgets are cheap and ubiquitous ways to expand your home network. But the positive reviews of the surprisingly hi-fi Nest Audio may have spurred Google to spy even more integration, this time as an ad-hoc home theater. According to The Wall Street Journal, a Google representative says that Nest Audio speakers will work with more conventional setups.
Exactly how and when that functionality might appear isn’t exactly clear at the moment. The ability to let the Nest Audio function as wireless surround speakers would seem to be obvious, as the speaker is often placed in obvious spots for satellite speakers. Previous unused marketing found in Google Search results indicates that the speakers could be paired with a Chromecast, which would combine them with your TV’s speakers or sound bar for a basic surround sound setup.
The marketing copy indicates that, at least at some point, this functionality was planned for the recent launch of the latest Chromecast with Google TV and the Nest Audio. Whether any added features would come to older Google smarthome gadgets, like the Google/Nest Mini, Google Home Max, or previous versions of the Chromecast, is unclear.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, 9to5Google
