To put it in simpler terms, the Next-gen Google Home could be half speaker/Google Assistant (what it currently is) and half Google Wifi. Instead of buying and setting up two devices, you'd only need one.
By including Wi-Fi router capabilities, Google would be able to "make its Assistant service faster" the report claims. It's unclear if faster means more responsive; I had ** issues with using Google Assistant on Home when I reviewed it, and didn't find it to be slow at all (at least on decent Wi-Fi connections). Read more...