It might not be the Echo Show rival you were looking for, but it’s the Echo Dot rival you didn’t know you wanted. At long last, Google has finally decided to put out the first ever next gen Home device, and it decided to downscale instead of moving up. The Google Home Mini is everything that the Google Home is and does everything the Google Home does, except with smaller package, a smaller price, and a smaller sound.
The electronics is hardly what gives speakers like the Google Home it’s bulk. Indeed, if you took off the Home’s bottom, you’ll immediately see the audio equipment that delivers that large sound in 360 degrees.
But not everyone needs that much audio for a personal assistant. In fact, most don’t like the Google Home’s audio quality and prefer to use their connected speakers, that work with Google Home too, instead. So why pay more for hardware you’re unlikely to use?
That may have been the thinking behind the Google Home Mini. At $49, it is easily less than half the price of a Google Home and way more than a quarter of its height. Its petite disc design, measuring only 4.53 x 4.53 x 4.72, almost makes you want to slip it into bag and take it along with you. No can do, as you still need to plug it into a power source, though this time it’s just a USB one.
The Google Home Mini goes on sale October 19, the same day as the Google Pixel 2. The two definitely make a perfect pair, so don’t be surprised if you see bundles being offered left and right. You can choose between white Chalk, black Charcoal, orange Coral to match your own Google smartphone.
