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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. Needs to review the security of your connection before proceeding. The Google Assistant uses the power of Google's search engine to handle tough, specific questions better than Alexa does. The one exception was my "limbo" test, where I try to wake each speaker from roughly 20 feet across the room using an increasingly quiet voice.
With an adorable, four-inch display, it's the perfect smart home device to keep on your bedside table. You can choose from a number of different clock faces in various colors and styles, depending on your room’s aesthetic. The grey fabric casing provides a neutral and modern look, too. The Google Nest Hub Max is one of the best Google Home speakers, too. As the company’s newest smart display, the Nest Hub Max is a more expensive entry-point, but gives Google Assistant a bright touchscreen display and high-quality video chat camera.
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That said, you'll probably prefer to turn things up and down using voice commands. Once you’ve got it connected to your router then all that you need to do to connect to it is press the cast icon that pops up in the app you’re using. Most of the major streaming services, be it YouTube Music, YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, etc., have built-in functionality that will cause the button to pop up automatically in the app. But what makes the Home Max a smart speaker is that you can speak to it. If you don’t feel like browsing through your phone to find that new Childish Gambino song, you can just ask the Home Max to play Feels Like Summer thanks to tiny built-in microphones.
And because you can orient the speaker vertically or horizontally that touch-sensitive bit can either be on top or on the right side. One helpful feature is that a voice will tell you when you’ve accidentally turned the speaker turned upside-down if you’re moving it. Nice gentle alarm function and she can play music and check the weather and news anytime she likes.
Use your Google Home mini as a smartphone speaker.
The Google Home Mini Smart Assistant in charcoal has everything a Smart Assistant device requires in a small package. The Mini is a smooth flat disk measuring about 4 inches in length and 1.5 inches in height. The top half is a 360 degree speaker that has hidden LED status lights to help communicate when the Mini is working or listening. The Mini has a single switch that will disable the always-on microphone, and a Micro USB port. It requires only a power supply and to be synced to your home Wi-Fi network. It also has Bluetooth support, and functions as a Chromecast device.
A few key software updates or notable third-party integrations could change that, but right now, the Dot is still the better buy. The small lights behind the fabric light up when you speak or adjust playback. Call quality is excellent, easily equalling that of a traditional mobile call made with strong reception. Here, the Mini’s limitations aren’t so much of an issue, as this speaker is better than a regular phone’s hands-free mode, producing clear audio. For the most part, though, Alexa and the Assistant are more or less interchangeable.
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You tap the left of the device to turn the volume down; the right to turn the volume up. Tucked away at the back is a small slider, which mutes the microphone. It’s a bit fiddly, though, and given it’s at the back of the device, I wish it had been just a button instead of a slider. One other small concern -- from a distance, it isn't always easy to see the indicator lights on the top of the device that tell you it's ready for a command. Sonically, the Google Home Mini sounds noticeably better than the Echo Dot. Voices are full and clear, and it’s perfectly listenable when it comes to talk radio or voice answers – and this is the speaker’s primary use.
And if you’re always on the move and want to carry your soundtrack around with you, consider opting for one of the portable Google Home speaker options, like the Sonos Move or JBL Link 20. Soli's superpowers also enable air gestures, letting you pause and play YouTube videos or snooze an alarm. These gestures don't work all the time, but are useful when they do. As for sound, Google did boost the bass by 50% this time around, which is an improvement over the total absence of bass in the first-generation model.
Minus one star because there's no "real" Bluetooth functionality as it can't play to Bluetooth speakers, so I had to end up getting a chromecast to play it on my TV . Cleared payment cleared payment - opens in a new window or tab. The Google Nest Mini speaker has a puck-like design with curved sides with a rubber bottom and a top half covered in fabric. It comes in an array of colors you can choose from—red, grey, black, and blue. If you're in the market for a multipurpose speaker to help you around the house while also delivering good quality sound, the Google Nest Mini might be what you're looking for.
It sports a clean-looking, cloth-covered exterior, so the Nest Audio can be disguised as home decor unlike the tear drop-shaped Google Home. You'll also get louder sound and stronger bass from the Nest Audio. The best Google Home speakers below have pros and cons you’ll want to review before making a buying decision. But based on hours of testing, our top choice is the new Google Nest Audio, which Google recently released as a sequel to the Google Home. Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.
It can also play music from a number of big-name services, such as Google Play Music, Spotify and TuneIn. While it’s not quite the perfect experience, it’s hard to complain too much about what the Home Mini does. It is primarily a good voice assistant, with the ability to control other devices.
Far easier for her to use than a radio because of voice commands. Highly recommended for the elderly once you coach them to say OK or Hey instead of just "GOOGLE" each time! Broadcast feature isn't as handy as you might think but still nice to have. Can also be used to voice command lights with a SONOFF family product or compatible smart bulb. Sound quality isn’t great, but that’s to be expected from a device this small.
In contrast, the second generation Echo Dot comes with four buttons on the top of the device to mute the microphone, summon Alexa, or turn the volume up or down. Google Home Mini has a microphone mute button and volume buttons on the side, but none are visible from the top view. Whereas the Echo Dot has plus and minus buttons on top, for the Home Mini you touch the left side to lower volume and the right side to raise volume. Both buttons are invisible and sit directly across from the string of four LEDs atop the Home Mini.
Speaking of which, I found that the microphones on the Google Home Max aren’t too good at picking up my voice when music was playing around 75% or above. I found myself borderline yelling “Okay Google” and sometimes, even then I would just have to walk over to it and physically lower the volume. Why settle for an average Google Home speaker when you can get one with a gorgeous touchscreen, too? I admit, I’m already in the group of people that use a Google Home, but that’s mainly for setting alarms, timers, and asking it questions while I cook. With the Google Home Max I still do all of those things, but all while listening to music or podcasts. That said, if you can get one for cheap somewhere it’s worth considering.
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