Google Home Mini
A DOUGHNUT-SIZED SMART SPEAKER WITH PLENTY OF OOMPH.
GOOGLE HOME WAS the first AI smart speaker to officially make its way to Australian shores, and now it’s been followed here by its smaller brother, the Google Home Mini. This little marvel pretty much does everything the Home is capable of, thanks to the integration of Google Assistant, but there are some design and specification differences that potential purchasers of the Mini should be aware of (even beyond just obvious size distinctions). The Mini charges via a micro-USB cable, as opposed to the Home’s dedicated DC power adapter and plug. The other difference is in sound quality — the Home Mini has just a single 40mm driver for all audio output. During testing, we found that, at lower volumes, music was a bit anaemic, although crank the volume up to 70% or higher and the sound quality gets a lot better — it’s capable of filling a room despite the size, although it does lack the Home’s thumpier bottom end. The Google Home comes equipped with a 2-inch (50mm) driver and dual passive radiators housed in its base. We had the Mini sitting in a corner with the sound bouncing off the walls, and it could easily compete with most decent portable Bluetooth speakers in the market today. The only serious complaint we have with the Mini is around volume control, which involves tapping on the left and right edges of the blob, and because the exact spots aren’t marked, finding the physical volume controls can be a bit of a hit-and-miss.
Home Mini gives you full control over Assistant-powered features, like adding content to a Chromecast so you can stream movies and TV shows with “OK, Google”, or stream music from Spotify or YouTube Red. You can even link smart home accessories like lights that can then be voice-controlled via Google Assistant. You can still get recipes from the internet, catch up on the news, get a rundown on the day’s appointments and play the Stranger Things audio adventure game. Home Mini is exactly like its bigger brother, then, just with a smaller speaker and an even smaller price tag.