WEBVTT - Nest Audio smart speaker uses data to make audio sound its best

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<v Speaker 1>Rich Demiro here, Rich On Tech here with Mark Spates,

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<v Speaker 1>product manager for Google Next. Mark, thanks so much for

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<v Speaker 1>being on the podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh Rich, happy to be here.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, let's talk about your brand new product. You've

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<v Speaker 1>got the Nest Audio smart speaker. This is a ninety

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<v Speaker 1>nine dollars smart speaker that kind of replaces a speaker

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<v Speaker 1>that came out many years ago, the original Google Home.

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<v Speaker 1>So tell me about this new speaker. I've got one

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<v Speaker 1>right here, and it has a whole new look and

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<v Speaker 1>feel to it.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Rich, I think the first visual that you saw

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<v Speaker 2>is part of the advancements that we made. And so

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<v Speaker 2>when we launched the original Google Home, I think what

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<v Speaker 2>was really interesting where people were surprised by its sound

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<v Speaker 2>and they actually appreciated that for the value in the

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<v Speaker 2>sound that they got. And so when we thought about

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<v Speaker 2>the next generation of it, Nest Audio, there are a

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<v Speaker 2>few things that we want to prove. On one, the

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<v Speaker 2>sound quality itself, and for us, what we wanted to

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<v Speaker 2>make sure is that there's a theoristic that users felt

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<v Speaker 2>when they had this sound with Nest Audio. It should

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<v Speaker 2>be full balanced with the lows and the mids and

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<v Speaker 2>the highs. It should be very clear as well, that

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<v Speaker 2>the vocals really come through and there's no distortion and

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<v Speaker 2>it's natural. Really, what the users should feel is what

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<v Speaker 2>the artists created and what they wanted to come through.

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<v Speaker 2>And there's a few ways that we achieved this rich

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<v Speaker 2>One is the Nest Audio actually has a seventy five

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<v Speaker 2>milimeter Wolfer and a nineteen milimeter Twitter and this is

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<v Speaker 2>really important because that allows us to really get better

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<v Speaker 2>base and allows us to even be awesome with the

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<v Speaker 2>vocals at extremely high values. But I think the key part,

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<v Speaker 2>and I think the natural, like how Google solves problems,

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<v Speaker 2>was we went about the tuning in a very software

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<v Speaker 2>driven way, a very data driven way. And I'll tell

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<v Speaker 2>you what that means. First, the team actually creates it

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<v Speaker 2>with nes Mini, our own proprietary tuning software, and what

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<v Speaker 2>that allows us to do is we can simulate over

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<v Speaker 2>two thousand and five hundred possible listening positions for the device.

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<v Speaker 2>And why is that important. It's because people have very

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<v Speaker 2>different homes. They put these devices everywhere, and we want

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<v Speaker 2>to make sure that it sounds great no matter where

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<v Speaker 2>you put it. And the features that really come out

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<v Speaker 2>of this data driven approach are three things. One, it's

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<v Speaker 2>called base extension. What we're able to do is extend

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<v Speaker 2>the base even when the device is at lower values,

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<v Speaker 2>and so if you're listening to it on valume two

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<v Speaker 2>or three, you still don't lose that emotional feeling of

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<v Speaker 2>the base coming through. The next one is ambient IQ.

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<v Speaker 2>What that allows us to do is leverage the background noise.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's say the faucet is running or the dryer is running.

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<v Speaker 2>We can make sure that the assistant voice actually adjusts

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<v Speaker 2>so that you can hear it no matter where the

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<v Speaker 2>device is in the room. And last, and I actually

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<v Speaker 2>thinks important for Nest Audio is media EQ. What we're

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<v Speaker 2>able to do is actually a just the tuning of

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<v Speaker 2>nests Audio to the music you're listening to, be it

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<v Speaker 2>hip hop or jazz or classical or the podcast as well.

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<v Speaker 2>And so what you're really seeing is is Google really

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<v Speaker 2>starting to develop a really clear way that we believe

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<v Speaker 2>things should sound, and then the technology behind it to

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<v Speaker 2>actually achieve it.

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<v Speaker 1>Now, because you have so many speakers in the lineup

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<v Speaker 1>at this point, everything from the Mini to the Max

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<v Speaker 1>to the different displays, and this of course new Nest Audio,

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<v Speaker 1>there's almost a reason to have one in every room.

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<v Speaker 1>And you can at these price points. So tell me

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<v Speaker 1>about the idea of building a whole house system. You've

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<v Speaker 1>got this stream transfer feature and also the stereo pair feature,

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<v Speaker 1>so explain how those sort of work in the realm

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<v Speaker 1>of a house.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, this is this is my favorite part. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>if I think about the things that I've been using

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<v Speaker 2>the most since we've all been working from home, these

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<v Speaker 2>are the features. And so the thing about creating that

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<v Speaker 2>whole home audio experience is that first we want to

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<v Speaker 2>make sure all our devices work together. And they all

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<v Speaker 2>are using Cast, which is awesome, and so it can

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<v Speaker 2>work with your hub, your hub Max, I can even

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<v Speaker 2>work with your Crome cast devices that are connected to

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<v Speaker 2>your TV right, So it really gives a pretty broad

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<v Speaker 2>range of things that work together. But the real outcome

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<v Speaker 2>is fill your home with music. And first it's about grouping,

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<v Speaker 2>and so you can set up a group and I

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<v Speaker 2>do this all the time. I literally have a group

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<v Speaker 2>called home and it's like Yo playing music on home.

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<v Speaker 2>But then I think there are other features that are

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<v Speaker 2>about the context of what you're doing in that day.

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<v Speaker 2>And so let's just say it's a Saturday and you're

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<v Speaker 2>cleaning a house. Something like stream transfer is perfect, right,

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<v Speaker 2>because what you can do is you're cleaning up in

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<v Speaker 2>the kitchen as I do, then I actually start to

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<v Speaker 2>move to the bathroom and I can say, hey, move

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<v Speaker 2>the move the music to the bathroom. And then you

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<v Speaker 2>get down clean up the bathroom. You got to go,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, finish up, clean up the living room, and

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<v Speaker 2>say hey, move the music to the living room. And

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<v Speaker 2>that allows the.

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<v Speaker 1>Music to say you just say those that term to it.

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<v Speaker 1>And you sort of have to know what your speakers

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<v Speaker 1>are named. I'm assuming right.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, if you only have one speaker in our room,

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<v Speaker 2>you can you can just use the room. But it

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<v Speaker 2>also works if you say, hey, GI, move the room,

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<v Speaker 2>move the music to the living room speaker, which is

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<v Speaker 2>the name of the speaker. And so uh, this this, this,

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<v Speaker 2>this easiness of being able to just use it with

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<v Speaker 2>your voice is awesome. And if you have a Hub

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<v Speaker 2>Max or you have a hub, you can also just

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<v Speaker 2>do it with with touch you can go to the interface.

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<v Speaker 2>You actually can do the same thing using the interface

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<v Speaker 2>on a Hub or a Hub Max. Uh. The next

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<v Speaker 2>feature which we just recently introduced, which is multi room expansion.

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<v Speaker 2>This is the thought that sometimes you want to create

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<v Speaker 2>a group dynamically on the on the fly that you

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<v Speaker 2>haven't created before. And so the core things for this is,

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<v Speaker 2>like you know, all of us sometimes we get into it,

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<v Speaker 2>we get into the point where we're working out and

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<v Speaker 2>so like this is what I do. I'm like, Okay,

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<v Speaker 2>I want the sound to come through a little bit more,

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<v Speaker 2>and so let me put it on my Nest hub

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<v Speaker 2>in the kitchen, let me put it on the audio

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<v Speaker 2>and the bedroom, and also let me put it on

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<v Speaker 2>my stereo pair that's out in the living room, and automatically,

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<v Speaker 2>in real time, I can create that group by just

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<v Speaker 2>selecting those devices. And so that's really awesome. And then

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<v Speaker 2>the last one that you mentioned, Rich is stereo pair.

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<v Speaker 2>And what's cool about Nests Audio from the ground up,

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<v Speaker 2>it was designed for stereo pair. You put two of

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<v Speaker 2>these devices together, man, they look beautiful, and it's because

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<v Speaker 2>we thought that people would actually set them up for

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<v Speaker 2>stereo pairs. And what this allows you to do is

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<v Speaker 2>give stereo sound out of both devices. And it's really cool.

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<v Speaker 2>Especially when you were listening to a song that has

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<v Speaker 2>like vary ways of how the audio comes in or

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<v Speaker 2>the sound comes in, you can hear the device is

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<v Speaker 2>actually working together to add this extra level of dynamic

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<v Speaker 2>to the actual sound experience.

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<v Speaker 1>So what are people doing on these smart speakers? I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>music is clearly probably one of the top things, I

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<v Speaker 1>mean questions whether what are some of the things that

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<v Speaker 1>your research tells you that people are using these for.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, you know what's cool is things like routines are

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<v Speaker 2>becoming extremely important, right because now our routine is all

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<v Speaker 2>in the same place, and you have to figure out

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<v Speaker 2>how to either make those easier or break them up.

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<v Speaker 2>And so I'll give you a good example what I do.

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<v Speaker 2>I have a routine that starts every day around five

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<v Speaker 2>point thirty and all it does is it cuts on

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<v Speaker 2>a few lights and it starts playing music. Rich. It's

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<v Speaker 2>a really simple thing to remind me to get up

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<v Speaker 2>and stop working. Right. It's like cause you can easily

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<v Speaker 2>keep rolling if you don't have something that breaks it up, right,

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<v Speaker 2>And so that's one thing that we're seeing a lot.

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<v Speaker 2>And also like for children, Hey, there's like, hey, this

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<v Speaker 2>is the worktime routine. This is like, okay, this is

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<v Speaker 2>your playtime routine. And so I think the Google Assistant

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<v Speaker 2>and our smart speakers are being super help on the

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<v Speaker 2>home around those areas.

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<v Speaker 1>Tell me about launching a product during a pandemic. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>planning for this probably began before COVID. And so when

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<v Speaker 1>you realize that you have to continue this through this,

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<v Speaker 1>how do you do it?

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<v Speaker 2>Well? You take a deep breath, right and then and

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<v Speaker 2>then you get back to work. And I think what

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<v Speaker 2>the team did was was very valid. Like So what

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<v Speaker 2>it was amazing to me is I thought about, Hey,

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<v Speaker 2>there's things that in the testing where we have like

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<v Speaker 2>echo chambers, and we have lots of things where we

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<v Speaker 2>tested fabric and all these labs were actually on campus.

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<v Speaker 2>Rich people took trucks and rented trucks and actually got

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<v Speaker 2>the equipment from the campus and they put it in

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<v Speaker 2>places like their garage or their extra their extra room.

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<v Speaker 2>And so I would say in a couple of weeks

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<v Speaker 2>we were back up and running. When you think about

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<v Speaker 2>things like tuning, I actually think because of work for

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<v Speaker 2>home ness, audio sounds better. And the reason why is

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<v Speaker 2>our engineers we're spending so much time with the devices

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<v Speaker 2>at home and they've got to experience the sound and

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<v Speaker 2>real spaces on a constant basis. And I actually think

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<v Speaker 2>things like the tuning and things like making the assistant

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<v Speaker 2>faster got way better because we were living with these

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<v Speaker 2>devices on a day in and day out basis.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, now we're talking smart speakers, and some of

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<v Speaker 1>the feedback I get is privacy. People are worried about

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<v Speaker 1>something or someone or Google listening to them, tell me

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<v Speaker 1>about privacy, and as that front and center on this device.

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<v Speaker 2>Privacy is core to the experience that we want to

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<v Speaker 2>deliver it to users in. It stems from our privacy

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<v Speaker 2>commitments that we made a few years ago around how

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<v Speaker 2>our devices work and how they're going to expect users privacy.

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<v Speaker 2>And similar to our other devices, Nets Audio has a

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<v Speaker 2>mute switch on the back, so you can easily turn

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<v Speaker 2>it off if you want, and you can easily turn

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<v Speaker 2>it back on when you need to. And then we

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<v Speaker 2>also have the assistant privacy features where you can tell

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<v Speaker 2>the system to forget the things that you said, or

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<v Speaker 2>you can also go to your my activity and you

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<v Speaker 2>can delete those items as well, And so we have

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<v Speaker 2>multiple ways to make sure that we're respecting users' privacy.

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<v Speaker 2>It is a core fundamental value that we want to

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<v Speaker 2>make sure that we deliver to users.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, before we go, can you give me any

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<v Speaker 1>tips or tricks, any commands to try that I haven't

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<v Speaker 1>thought of.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh. I think one of the coolest things is actually

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<v Speaker 2>starting to use your phone as a way to start

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<v Speaker 2>to interact with the device. So casting some of your

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<v Speaker 2>favorite apps to the device I think is really cool.

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<v Speaker 2>I think actually going to the Google Home app and

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<v Speaker 2>starting to use the interface to control how you're moving

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<v Speaker 2>your music is really awesome. The last thing that I

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<v Speaker 2>will say from an assistance standpoint that it's kind of

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<v Speaker 2>exciting to me is now we're just playing a little

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<v Speaker 2>game of trivia at home where we use the assistant

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<v Speaker 2>as kind of like the game show hosts. And it's

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<v Speaker 2>pretty fun, right, And so we'll sit there and right

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<v Speaker 2>now we're doing it because the NBA Finals have started,

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<v Speaker 2>Like it's all about the status, and so we'll sit

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<v Speaker 2>there and well, you know, have a fun time going

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<v Speaker 2>back and forth about like, hey, what set player percentage

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<v Speaker 2>for shooting? What set player? Hey what set player this

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<v Speaker 2>and that, And it's a really cool, fun way to

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<v Speaker 2>expand the way that you're interacting and change the way

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<v Speaker 2>that you're interacting with the people in your home. But

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<v Speaker 2>it's also using the smart speaker, and I think in

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<v Speaker 2>a really unique.

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<v Speaker 1>Way awesome mark Space, product manager for Google Nest. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>so much for joining me today. I do appreciate it.

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<v Speaker 1>Talking about the new Google Nest Audio smart speaker. My

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<v Speaker 1>name is rich dmiro Rich on tech dot TV. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening.