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Google Nest Mini

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Request chat Google Nest Mini (Sky) Smart speaker with built-in Google ... WIREDBetter sound, especially playing music. Onboard machine learning should speed up Assistant response times. Built-in wall mount eliminates the need for accessories. Recycled speaker fabric. Still $49.TIREDNot a very loud speaker. Proprietary power pack currently only available through Google. Motion controls are unreliable.You may think of thermostats when you hear the name Nest, but earlier this year Google began slapping the brand on (almost) all of its home products. And so the Google Home Mini is now the Google Nest Mini, and it's been refreshed for 2019.

The Nest Mini is about the same hockey-puck size as its predecessor, but it's a real step up in sound. Low bass and midrange tones are much clearer, with a level of separation in frequencies that didn't exist in the . Music sounds a lot clearer, though podcasts can still sound muddy and washed out.

Given the sound quality of the old Home Mini, there was nowhere to go but up. The Nest Mini still isn't a room-filling music speaker, but it sounds good enough to pull off a few songs if the need arises, which is more than you could say for the Home Mini. Given the entry-level price of $49, it's a great way to see if a Google-centric smart home is for you, or a cheap way to extend your smart home into new rooms.

WallflowerOutwardly, the Nest Mini is very similar to the Home Mini. Google has changed the speaker cover material to a fabric made from recycled plastic bottles, but it looks and feels nearly the same. The Micro USB plug is gone—instead you get a round plug. It's not a big change, but it means that any Home Mini accessories that used Micro USB plugs won't work with the Nest Mini.

4 new nest mini devices in black blue red and grey [https://media.wired.com/photos/5db0d4158ebd000007e1441a/master/w_1600%2Cc_limit/Gear-Nest-Mini-Family-Shot-SOURCE-Google.jpg] Photograph: GoogleThe big addition is wall mounts, but you won't need those anyway, because the Nest Mini has a little notch for wall mounting built right into the back of it. I highly recommend taking advantage of it. It uses a wall as added resonance to somewhat transcend its size and provide decent-sounding music and clearer voice responses to your commands.

When Google revealed the Nest Mini, it touted an ability to adjust its sound to its environment, like the Sonos Move () and other expensive smart speakers. If it's actually doing this, it's too subtle for me to notice. But again, it definitely sounds better on the wall.

There's also a new sensor under the fabric cover that detects when you're reaching for the Mini. It lights up the volume control buttons on the side of the speaker when it detects your hand nearby. This is great when it works, but like the motion , it's just not reliable.

Like Google's other smart speaker devices, you interact with the Nest Mini by saying "Hey Google." The LEDs in the middle of the puck then light up to let you know it's listening, and you can give it a command like "Tell me the weather." Google has added a third microphone to help the Nest Mini hear those commands. I tested it alongside the previous model and it was indeed much better at accurately understanding my voice from afar.

the side of the new nest mini device [https://media.wired.com/photos/5db0d44c08f850000871920f/master/w_1600%2Cc_limit/Gear-Nest-Mini-side-view-gray-SOURCE-Google.jpg] Photograph: GoogleThe other big new feature in this update is a dedicated machine learning chip. This allows the Nest Mini to learn your voice better, and speeds up the response time, since in many cases it will be processed locally rather than sent to Google's servers. You'll still need a Wi-Fi connection, and all of your voice recordings are still sent to Google. I could not tell when things were processed locally, if they ever were, but there's a theoretical speed boost when that situation occurs.

One thing Google has not made a lot of noise about is the ability to pair two Nest Minis for a stereo setup. I only had one, so I haven't been able to test the feature, but Google has on its more expensive . Theoretically you could pair a left and right Nest Mini, creating a richer sound setup.

Other new tricks include the ability to broadcast your voice to other Google speakers throughout your house, call others through Google Duo, and become an alarm through Google's .

Not a ThrowawayOne of the nice things about Google's smart home devices is that they last. If you already own a Google Home Mini, there's nothing here that screams "upgrade now." Yes, the sound is better, but if you want to upgrade your sound, you're better off making a more substantial investment in a like a JBL Link 20 ( or .

Google updates its voice assistant across all devices, so the old Home Mini should continue to operate (and improve) well into the future. And when the next Nest Mini arrives in a year or two, this one will probably continue working, too.

On the other hand, if you want to extend your existing Google Assistant–based smart home into new rooms, or you want to try out Google Assistant on the cheap, the new Nest Mini is a great place to start.

Review: Google Nest MiniRating: 7/10If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. . is a product reviewer for WIRED, specializing in portable technology. He was previously a writer and editor for WIRED's Webmonkey.com, covering the browser wars, web standards, the independent web, and all aspects of internet culture. He studied at the University of Georgia.WriterTopicsAdvertisement Privacy Preference Center We process user's data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements, extract insights and generate reports to understand service usage; and/or accessing or storing information on devices for that purpose. Below you may read further about the purposes for which we process data, exercise your preferences for processing, and/or see our partners. Allow All Manage Consent Preferences Functional Cookies Always ActiveThese cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.

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Select All Vendors Select All Vendors All Consent Allowed Confirm My Choices[https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=228464857488266&ev=PageView&noscript=1] [https://dc.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=434737&fmt=gif] [https://ct.pinterest.com/v3/?tid=2613857793509&pd[em]=<hashed_email_address>&noscript=1] Google Nest Mini Carbon Black Smart Speaker | PowerPlanet Google's second generation of its smallest speaker comes in the form of the Nest Mini.

The Nest Mini replaces , and while it looks very similar, there are a few differences and a few upgrades. Here's how the Nest Mini compares to the Home Mini and what the differences are.

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What's the same between the Nest Mini and Home Mini? The Google Nest Mini and Home Mini share the same cute puck-like design and they offer the same dimensions too. They are both circular with a material covering and they both feature LED lights at the top, which light up when Google Assistant is activated.

The two devices also offer the same main features in that they both offer Google Assistant built-in, like the other and devices, allowing you play music, control smart home devices and ask Google pretty much any question you want an answer to, whether that be what the weather is like, what your calendar is like for that day or how old Einstein was when he died.

The price is also the same between the Home Mini and the Nest Mini with both costing $49/£49. You might find the Home Mini cheaper now however.

What's different between the Nest Mini and Home Mini? There would be little point in releasing a second generation model if there were no improvements, so unsurprisingly, the Nest Mini offers some upgrades to the Home Mini.

Design While the main design between the Google Home Mini and the Nest Mini is the same, the Nest Mini adds a screw mount on the rear, allowing the device to be wall hung.

This makes the Nest Mini much more flexible when it comes to placement, given the wall-hung option is built-in rather than requiring an additional accessory, like the Home Mini.

Additionally, the Nest Mini is more sustainable than the Home Mini, made from 35 per cent recycled plastic, while the fabric is made from recycled bottles.

Controls The Google Home Mini has a physical microphone mute button and it's also possible to control the volume with a tap on each side of the device.

The Nest Mini meanwhile, also has a physical microphone mute button, but the volume tap controls are now next to the LED lights on the top of the device and there's an ultrasound detector built-in that lights up when your hand approaches, allowing you to tap to pause too.

Sound The Google Home Mini is a great little device for an entry point into , but it's sound quality isn't as good as the other devices in the range. Fine for background music and for answering your questions, but not necessarily a device you'd use to listen to music day-in-day-out.

The Nest Mini meanwhile, hopes to improve that with a new hardware platform and 40 per cent better bass response compared to the Home Mini.

Features and hardware Along with sound improvements, the Nest Mini adds a third microphone compared to the Home Mini. Google claims this will allow the second generation model to respond to voice better and faster than the original model.

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Conclusion The Google Nest Mini retains the cute, compact design of the Home Mini that we know and love, but it makes it more sustainable, whilst adding the convenience of a built-in wall mount.

The second-gen device also improves the sound quality, adds more on-device control and adds an extra microphone for better voice response, whilst retaining the same price.

The Nest Mini is a no brainer over the Home Mini if you are choosing between the two. If you are considering an upgrade, you'll get some good improvements over your Home Mini, but it's probably worth considering the Nest Mini as an extra Google Assistant device in your home, rather than a replacement to the Home Mini as the Home Mini is still great.

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