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The Google Nest Mini is the second-generation miniaturized, voice-activated speaker for your home. It replaces the Google Home Mini in Google’s lineup of Assistant-powered hardware. If you want to know whether or not this little speaker lives up to its big aspirations, we’ve got a tune for you. Another new feature will let you use the Home devices as an intercom — you'll be able to "broadcast" a message from the Google Assistant to all other Home devices in the house.
Google knows that the vast majority of smart speaker users rely on them to play music, and competition has become fierce. A handful of audio gear companies have begun to sell their own Google Assistant-powered speakers — most of which trounce Google’s in terms of audio quality. The speaker doesn't have a 3.5mm output jack or a standard Bluetooth connection. You can play music from your phone by using the Google Home app, and can connect the speaker to a larger, Chromecast-enabled speaker for better sound quality.
Google Nest Mini
Two LEDs on the side of the Nest Mini show you where to tap for volume control. If you work from home every day, the Google Nest Mini is a solid coworker. It knows your schedule front-to-back, has answers to most any question you can come up with and sounds especially good in smaller spaces like a home office. Find a song on YouTube you want to listen to on your phone and then connect via Bluetooth to hear that song on the Nest Mini. Sony, B&O, Philips and Polk are on board with selected hardware, however. In terms of services, you can get news and sport updates from the BBC, Sky, Reuters, CNN and more, and you can control YouTube, Netflix and Spotify among others.
That’s great if you’re trying to hear the daily news over the dull roar of kitchen conversation, and awesome for podcast fans who can never find a speaker that properly amplifies voices. When you do the math on how much goes into this speaker - the speakers, the microphones, the wireless receiver and on-board processor - it’s kind of amazing how cheap Google can sell this speaker for. Our comprehensive tests help you buy the very best for your money, with our advice sections giving you step-by-step information on how to get even more from your music and movies. Everything is tested by our dedicated team of in-house reviewers in our custom-built test rooms in London, Reading and Bath.
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Google is all about getting its voice-powered Google Assistant into as many places as possible. It’s already on every new Android phone, and is available to the iPhone and myriad other devices via apps and APIs. The original Google Home Mini was a fine assistant, but not the best speaker.
You could use aBluetooth adapter plugged into the auxiliary jack of your other speakers, but I doubt many consumers would go to the trouble. In terms of sound, the Nest Mini delivers a bit more clarity and the Echo Dot a bit more punch. I wouldn't let sound be the deciding factor on these smaller, budget-friendly speakers.
Adjusting “Hey Google” sensitivity
At $49 and with voice match and improved artificial intelligence capabilities, the Google Home Mini is a wonderful assistant that seamlessly puts the Google platform at the tip of your tongue. The hands-free calling feature allows you to make outgoing phone calls to anyone in your contacts list, assuming they live in the United States, Canada, or Mexico. You can also call your dry cleaners or other phone numbers not stored in your contacts list by simply saying, “Hey Google, call the Dry Cleaners on 15th Street” or whomever you want to call. Google has also rolled out interactive experiences geared toward children’s entertainment called “Family Link,” which includes games, storytelling, beatboxing, and more. In addition, there’s Interpreter mode, which is a nifty feature that allows you to communicate with someone from another language. The Google Home Mini’s packaging is a foreshadowing of the device’s simplicity.
The small speaker is surprisingly loud and full sounding for its size, is able to understand voice commands from across the room, and integrates extremely well with other Google-made devices. You won’t want to make any phone calls with the Mini, but nearly every other intended use is expertly executed. Put the Nest Mini and other Google Nest products to use as an intercom. You can issue the broadcast command from any Google Assistant-powered speaker, or use the Google Home app on your phone, to send an alert to the other devices in your home. My favorite use-case is to broadcast in the evenings to let my daughters know it’s dinner time. Google's undeniable advantage comes from the amount of info Google has about both the world and your own activities.
Better sound, but when you put it next to the Echo Dot…
AptX is a codec used for transmitting audio wirelessly with Bluetooth. It is developed by Qualcomm, and supports 16-bit audio at a bit rate of 384kbps. Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard that allows data transfers between devices placed in close proximity, using short-wavelength, ultra-high frequency radio waves. Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology that allows sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects. If you have a second speaker of the same type, you can pair them together to create a stereo sound setup. Inside Google's anechoic chamber, one of the testing facilities the company uses to gather speaker data.
It is compatible with Google Assistant, allowing you to use voice commands to control the device from other Google Assistant-compatible devices. Inside the Nest Mini is a machine learning chip with up to one TeraOPS of processing power. This chip helps the speaker learn which commands are commonly repeated so it can respond to them without needing the cloud at all. Let's say you turn on your kitchen lights or ask to play a specific song every day of the week at the same time. The Nest Mini learns those actions, stores that data locally and processes those commands without sending any information to Google's servers.
You can, of course, just treat it as a Bluetooth speaker and use it to play songs from your phone, but that wouldn’t be making the most of its potential. Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox. And while Google's third-party "actions" are catching up to Alexa's, Alexa is still ahead when it comes to support for third-party services.
In a head-to-head audio test, the Home Mini simply blew the Echo Dot out of the water. Once connected, I said, "Hey, Google, turn on my dining room lights," and they responded instantly. Although the LEDs on the top of the Home Mini light up when they detect your voice, they're hard to see, especially if the Mini is across the room from you.
The Google Home Mini can play music from YouTube and Google Play right out of the box, and from Spotify and Pandora once those services are linked through the Google Home app. Apple Music is not one of them, but you can still play it using a Bluetooth connection. The speaker preserves the details of your favorite tunes with clarity that has to be heard to be appreciated. If you're deep in Google's ecosystem and prefer using its products and services, the Home Mini is a natural choice -- provided you don't rely heavily on a G Suite account. And Google's implementation of voice calling is much better, but the Mini's terrible call quality negates that advantage.
The team at Google spent hours testing the audio transparency of dozens of fabrics to create a more eco-friendly cover for the Nest Mini. The speaker's top fabric is made from 100% recycled plastic, and the external enclosure is made from 35% recycled plastic. Google told me that one half-liter plastic bottle makes enough fabric to cover a little bit more than two speakers.
You’re not going to be able to turn your room into a hopping nightclub, but the Mini is more than capable of filling an average-sized room with pleasing sound. Last, there’s a small notch on the back so you can hang the Mini on a wall if you wish. Since the device has to be plugged in, the wire will need to be draped down the wall. This is not the best look, but there are now third-party accessories that can bundle the charger, cord, and Mini itself into one unit.
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