Google has quietly refreshed its original Google Wifi router as a $99 entry-level option for the company’s wireless networking setup.
According to Google, the main update here is the new $99 (for a single unit) and $199 (for three devices) pricing — a drop from the original $129 and $299 prices that the product originally launched for back in 2016.
It’s also not here to replace the more recent Nest Wifi that Google launched last year and which offers better range than the original, or the Nest Wifi Points, which offer an integrated Google Assistant smart speaker. The Nest Wifi products are also considerably more expensive, starting at $149 for the Nest Wifi Point and $169 for the Nest Wifi router.
There are some minor hardware changes, too: the charger is a 15W barrel plug, instead of USB-C (to match Google’s other smart home products), the case is now made out of partially recycled plastic, and the logo on top has been lightly updated.
Along with the minor refresh and new hardware, Google is also rolling out some improvements on the software side of things to all Google Wifi and Nest Wifi setups. There’s now an option to add notification alerts whenever a new device joins your network. Google also says that it’s done more work to help “avoid congestion when multiple devices are online” by reducing delays and improving overall network performance.
