Where are all Google's smart displays? Out-of-stock Store listings raise eyebrows

In a lot of ways, today’s online Google Store experience is better than it’s ever been, including not just the latest Pixel phones and Watch, but also a ton of smart home gear. We’ve got plenty of Nest cameras, the new Google Home Speaker, and lots more. But go shopping for a new smart display, and you may spot a problem: Google doesn’t seem to have any available for sale.

Product availability on the Google Store is regularly in flux, and we’re used to occasionally seeing our favorites go out of stock. Sometimes that’s just a supply chain blip, and sales resume shortly. Other times, though, like we recently saw with the Nest Mini and Nest Audio, that really does signal that Google’s done with the product for good.

Google’s dedicated smart home display page in the Store currently features two units: the Nest Hub (2nd gen), and Nest Hub Max. And both of those are completely out of stock.

OK, what if we expand our horizons a little to also include the Pixel Tablet? After all, with its dock, it’s effectively Google’s most recent device meant to act as a smart home display.

Nope! While Google doesn’t bother with a full “out of stock” message here, there’s no option to even view the ordering page for the Tablet, and all you can do is register your email for a notice when Google is finally ready to open sales again — assuming it ever is.

We noticed this pattern of unavailability earlier this week and reached out to Google for comment. Was this just an odd coincidence, or could it possible be evidence in support of the idea that a new Google Home Display launch was right around the corner?

So far, Google has not responded to our inquiry. We don’t want to read too much into that, but we’ll definitely be keeping a close eye on the Google Store in the days and weeks to come in the hopes of learning just what the future holds for Google’s smart display ambitions.