Yesterday, Google unveiled a whole set of new smart home devices: a smart speaker, indoor and outdoor security cameras, and a video doorbell. I was particularly intrigued by the new Google Home Speaker, especially when my colleague Jacob Krol snapped pictures of it in fun shades of green (Jade) and red (Berry). As you can see from my coffee machine reviews, my home décor is not subtle, and these would fit right in. If anything, I’d like a turquoise one as well.
Sadly, though, it’s not to be. Loading up Google’s UK store, I found that on this side of the pond, the Home Speaker only comes in two shades: light gray (Porcelain) and darker gray (Hazel). That’s it.
It’s the same story for the third-generation Nest Cam. If you live in the US, you can take your pick from Snow, Hazel, or Berry. If you’re in Europe, it’s white or nothing. Some Google fans have questioned why anyone would want a red camera but, if you’re as free and easy with a paintbrush as I am, it makes perfect sense.
Then there’s the new AI-enhanced Nest Doorbell, which would fit right into my smart home system and uses Gemini to give detailed descriptions of what’s happening outside your home – but only in North America. Although that might change at a future date, the new Nest Doorbell is currently only available in the US and Canada, and there seem to be no plans to release it elsewhere.
If you’re in Australia, things are even sadder. The official Aussie store has none of the new devices available to order at all.
No fun allowed
It’s not the first time Google has given its non-American customers short shrift. Earlier this year, the company announced that it would soon be ending support for its older smart thermostats and not selling any new models in Europe. If you had your eye on the slim and shiny Nest Learning Thermosta4 (4th Gen), I’m sorry to say you’ve been left out in the cold.
“Heating systems in Europe are unique and have a variety of hardware and software requirements that make it challenging to build for the diverse set of homes,” said the statement from Google. It’s clearly not impossible, though – the company has just chosen to invest its efforts elsewhere (literally).
Hopefully, Google will launch a battery version of the doorbell globally next year, but I’m not going to hold my breath. When it comes to the Google Home Speaker, then, I’ll just have to tolerate two shades of gray.
