1.   Try searching by:
    1. Category (Best $100 Headphones, Best 50 Inch TVs, …)
    2. Brand (Sony, Samsung, LG, Bose, …)
    3. Model (S405, QC 35 II, …)
    4. Etc...
Get insider access
Get insider access
Preferred store
Notice: Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available.
Best
Bluetooth Portable Outdoor Bose Loud Home Shower Parties Alexa Small JBL Brands Budget And Cheap Bluetooth For Bass Waterproof Bluetooth Golf Bluetooth For Sound Smart iPhone Karaoke
Tools
Compare Table Review List Review Index Graph Custom Ratings
Popular
JBL Boombox 3 JBL Charge 5 JBL Authentics 500 JBL Flip 6 Bose SoundLink Max Sonos Era 100 Harman/Kardon Go + Play 3 Ultimate Ears EPICBOOM Sonos Era 300 Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 JBL PartyBox Stage 320 Sonos Move 2 Bose SoundLink Flex Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 4 JBL PartyBox 310 Harman/Kardon Onyx Studio 8 Sony SRS-XB100 Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM JBL PartyBox Club 120
164
Speakers bought and tested
Supported by you via insider access, and when you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Driven by data, run by a passionate team of engineers, testers, technical writers, developers, and more.
We are hiring!
  1. Home
  2. Speaker
  3. Compare
Notice: Big Spring Sale Deal: The Amazon Echo Pop has dropped by 25% on Amazon.com. See all Speaker Big Spring Sale deals.
  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Pictures
    2. Style
    3. Portability
    4. Build Quality
    5. Controls
    6. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Frequency Response Accuracy
    2. Raw Frequency Response
    3. Soundstage
    4. Dynamics
  6. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. Voice Assistant
    3. App
  7. Connectivity
    1. Wired
    2. Bluetooth
    3. Wi-Fi
  8. Comments

Apple HomePod (1st generation) vs Google Nest Audio

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Apple HomePod (1st generation)
Google Nest Audio

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Sep 04, 2024 07:33 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Nov 11, 2024 07:28 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Apple HomePod (1st generation) Picture
Google Nest Audio Picture
Bluetooth
No
Wi-Fi
Yes
Speakerphone
Yes
Voice Assistant
Yes
Battery Powered
No
Bluetooth
Yes
Wi-Fi
Yes
Speakerphone
Yes
Voice Assistant
Yes
Battery Powered
No
  1. Recommended in 2 articles:
  2. Brands
  3. Google

Variants

  • HomePod (1st generation) (Space Gray)
  • HomePod (1st generation) (White)
  • Nest Audio (Chalk)
  • Nest Audio (Charcoal)
  • Nest Audio (Sage)
  • Nest Audio (Sand)
  • Nest Audio (Sky)

Review

See Apple HomePod (1st generation) Review
See Google Nest Audio Review
0 
0 

Our Verdict

Apple HomePod (1st generation)

Google Nest Audio

The Apple HomePod (1st generation) is a better voice assistant speaker than the Google Nest Audio. The Apple speaker has a better-balanced default sound profile and a better soundstage. Its latency over a Wi-Fi connection is lower, so it's more suitable for watching videos. However, it may be harder to find in new condition since it's been discontinued. Also, the Google speaker comes with bass and treble adjustments to tweak its sound profile to your liking, unlike the Apple model.

0 

Check Price

Space Gray
HomePod (1st generation)
Searching
Finding store
Chalk
Nest Audio
Searching
Finding store
White
HomePod (1st generation)
Searching
Finding store
Charcoal
Nest Audio
Searching
Finding store
 
Sage
Nest Audio
Searching
Finding store
 
Sand
Nest Audio
Searching
Finding store
 
Sky
Nest Audio
Searching
Finding store

Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

7.0
6.2

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

7.3
6.4

Dynamics 
 

6.8
5.4

Soundstage 
 

7.5
6.4

EQ 
 

No
Bass/Treble

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Apple HomePod (1st generation) Style Photo
Google Nest Audio Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No
Show text

Portability 
 

4.2
5.4

Dimensions Photo  

Apple HomePod (1st generation) Dimensions Photo
Google Nest Audio Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

203 in³ (3,332 cm³)
93 in³ (1,522 cm³)

Weight 
 

5.5 lbs (2.5 kg)
2.6 lbs (1.2 kg)

Power Source 
 

AC Only
AC Only

One-Hand Carry 
 

No
Yes
Show text

Build Quality 
 

6.4
6.4

Build Quality Photo  

Apple HomePod (1st generation) Build Quality Photo
Google Nest Audio Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Good
Good

Water Resistance 
 

No
Unspecified

Dust Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified

Impact Resistance 
 

No
Unspecified

Floats In Water 
 

No
Unspecified
Show text

Controls 
 

8.0
8.0

Controls Photo  

Apple HomePod (1st generation) Controls Photo
Google Nest Audio Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Apple HomePod (1st generation) Controls Photo 2
Google Nest Audio Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Great

Feedback 
 

Great
Great

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Tactile)
Yes (Tactile)

Call Answer/End 
 

Yes (Tactile)
Yes (Tactile)

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Tactile)
Yes (Tactile)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Yes (Tactile)
No

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
Yes (Physical)

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
No
Show text

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Apple HomePod (1st generation) In The Box Photo
Google Nest Audio In The Box Photo
Show text
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

7.3
6.4

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

0.19
-0.44

Std. Err. 
 

2.35 dB
4.62 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

53.4 Hz
56.6 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

19.1 kHz
13.7 kHz
Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Binaural Recording @ 1m 
 

Binaural Recording @ 2m 
 

Soundstage 
 

7.5
6.4

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

0.97 dB
3.13 dB

Stereo 
 

No (mono)
No (mono)
Show text

Dynamics 
 

6.8
5.4

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

88.5 dB SPL
84.0 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

2.41 dB
4.14 dB
Show text
Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
0.0

Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Charge Time 
 

N/A
N/A

Power Saving 
 

No
No

Charging Port 
 

No Battery
No Battery

Battery Powered 
 

No
No

Voice Assistant 
 

10
9.1

Alexa 
 

No
No

Google Assistant 
 

No
Built-in

Speakerphone 
 

Yes
Yes

Siri 
 

Built-in
No

Voice Assistant 
 

Yes
Yes

Voice Activation 
 

Yes
Yes

Microphone Mute 
 

Yes
Yes

Far-Field Performance 
 

Excellent
Excellent

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

Excellent
Decent
Show text

App 
 

6.6
9.3

App Picture  

Apple HomePod (1st generation) App Picture
Google Nest Audio App Picture

App Name 
 

Apple Home
Google Home

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

No
Yes

EQ 
 

No
Bass/Treble

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Party Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Multi-Room 
 

Yes
Yes
Show text
Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

No
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

No
No
Show text

Bluetooth 
 

0.0
6.8

Bluetooth 
 

No
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

No Bluetooth
5.0

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

N/A
236 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

N/A
252 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

N/A
254.3 ft (77.5 m)

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No
Show text

Wi-Fi 
 

8.1
7.3

Wi-Fi Version 
 

Wi-Fi 5
Wi-Fi 5

Wi-Fi Frequency Band 
 

2.4GHz & 5GHz
2.4GHz & 5GHz

Wi-Fi 
 

Yes
Yes

Apple AirPlay 
 

Yes
No

AirPlay Latency 
 

37 ms
N/A

Google Chromecast 
 

No
Yes

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
322 ms
Show text

Check Price

Space Gray
HomePod (1st generation)
Searching
Finding store
Chalk
Nest Audio
Searching
Finding store
White
HomePod (1st generation)
Searching
Finding store
Charcoal
Nest Audio
Searching
Finding store
 
Sage
Nest Audio
Searching
Finding store
 
Sand
Nest Audio
Searching
Finding store
 
Sky
Nest Audio
Searching
Finding store
Back to Top

Apple HomePod (1st generation)

Google Nest Audio

Comments

  1. Comparison
 • Posted 1 year ago

Apple HomePod (1st generation) vs Google Nest Audio: Main Discussion

What do you think of these products? Let us know below.


Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.

Follow Discussion0 followingSee All Soundbars & Speakers DiscussionsCopy link
0 
PreviewBack to editorFormat guide
No comments yet, refresh to see new ones
We make money directly from you via insider access (which gives you access to extra features) and when you buy a product after clicking a link to a retailer. Learn more about how we work.
We buy our own products, just like you, mostly from the United States. When a product is discontinued or no longer popular, we sell the review units locally. You can see what products we currently have for sale here.
© 2025 9298-5266 Quebec Inc. All Rights Reserved. Visit our corporate site.