Google Home Speaker’s early unveiling reveals a potential bargain

New Google Home Speaker it may not have officially shipped yet, but it looks like one lucky buyer got their hands on it early.

Reddit user he says they were traveling for work when they spotted the new Google Home Speaker sitting on a Walmart shelf. According to the post, a store employee unknowingly sold the device to them even though it wasn’t scheduled to be released yet.

The user has since shared his first impressions with an unboxing video, and the biggest surprise isn’t the speaker’s design or sound quality. Instead, it’s a permanently attached power cord.

According to the buyer, the Google Home Speaker comes with a non-detachable USB-C power cable that is about 5 feet long. The cable is then connected to a removable 30W power brick. In other words, while the power adapter itself can be replaced, the cable connected to the speaker cannot simply be removed and replaced.

“Unfortunately, the biggest standout for me was the non-removable power cord,” said the Redditor, calling it a “nightmare to repair.”

The included cable is also shown in the user’s unboxing video. The speaker itself does not appear to have a standard USB-C port. While it is possible to remove the cable from the inside during repairs, this would be a less consumer-friendly approach than using a removable cable.

Aside from this disappointment, the user’s first impressions of how the speaker sounds are mostly positive.

Saying they have experience with professional audio equipment, the Redditor called the sound quality better than expected. They noted good mid-range and low-frequency performance for a speaker of this size, although they preferred to increase the treble slightly in the volume settings.

The speaker is also said to be loud enough and deliver enough sound quality that the user plans to make it the main speaker in the living room.

Active hardware sidethey highlighted Google’s touch controls, which use hidden lights under the fabric mesh to indicate volume controls. It’s also said to be simple to set up, taking less than 10 minutes using an existing Google Home account.

Not everything about the physical design impressed them. In addition to the included cable, the user noted that the fabric felt a bit loose compared to the hard body under the mesh cover. This may be an issue with that unit, but it’s a concern for long-term durability and potential tearing.

Of course, these are the first impressions of a single first-time owner of a Google Home Speaker. We need more hands-on time to fully appreciate the speaker.