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This is especially important if you have a lot of smart devices in your home, as the Home Mini represents an affordable way to control those devices from every part of your house. The Google Home Mini is ideal for two sets of people. If you've never used a smart speaker, but you want to try it out without paying for an expensive Google Home or Google Home Max, then the Home Mini is a great affordable option.
The totally redesigned app has a new five-tab layout that’s easier to navigate. Pin your favorite devices to your home view to see multiple camera live streams right when you open the app. One other point worth mentioning is the Google Home Mini's array of far-field microphones. In almost all of my tests, they were able to hear me about as well as the ones in the Echo Dot.
Your smart home just got even smarter.
He wants the smart home to make him feel powerful, and it's getting there. While the heavy lifting is all done in the cloud, there is no noticeable lag between asking Google Home Mini to do something and receiving a response. The experience is a lot like talking to a person since you use natural language to interact with the device and receive responses in natural language as well. Home Entertainment Whether you want to build your own home theater or just learn more about TVs, displays, projectors, and more, we've got you covered. Find out about the latest update to the Google Home platform and the totally redesigned, more personalized Google Home app. 3 Check g.co/nest/matternow for availability of Matter’s functionality.
For the most part, though, Alexa and the Assistant are more or less interchangeable. Much of that stems from the fact that the two are locked in a fencing match for features, thrusting with each new trick and parrying to match the tricks of the other. From voice calling to TV controls, new features are constantly coming to each platform. The difference is clear when you listen to the two assistants speak. With the Echo Dot, Alexa's voice is a little tinny-sounding, and music playback not much better than what you'd get from your phone.
Speakers, Mics and Sensors
The Google Home app is designed to show you the status of your home and keep you up to date with what you may have missed. Check in on your home anytime and see a recap of recent events. You can also get a notification if something important happens while you’re away. 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. The Echo Dot was able to respond to noticeably lower levels than the Mini. It's a small thing, but it might make the Echo Dot the better pick for quiet talkers.
If you're a Google fan, the Mini is the obvious choice. Originally hailing from Troy, Ohio, Ry Crist is a text-based adventure connoisseur, a lover of terrible movies and an enthusiastic yet mediocre cook. A CNET editor since 2013, Ry's beats include smart home tech, lighting, appliances, and home networking. When available, your speaker or display will automatically update to the latest software version. The two biggest differences between the Google Home and the Google Home Mini are size and price. The Home Mini is significantly smaller and fades more readily into your home decor, and it also costs a lot less.
Here's everything that works with Google Home and Home Mini
Devices Find all your devices quickly in a simple list view. See if your office light is on or your kitchen speaker is still playing, with just a few taps. Automations Customize your devices to do what you want, when you want, with new automations in the Google Home app. Automate schedules so you don’t have to worry that you left something on when you’re away. Activity and Settings Use the activity tab to better understand what’s happening in and around your smart home.
Set up your Nest Wifi and Google Wifi in minutes using the Google Home app. Run speed tests, set up a guest network, and easily share your Wi-Fi password with family and friends. Use parental controls like Wi-Fi pause to manage online time for the kids. Automatically prioritize video conferencing and gaming traffic on all devices, or decide which devices to prioritize for all traffic types. Get more insights on your network, whether it’s a notification when a new device joins your network or detailed insights for troubleshooting a poor internet connection.
Activity and Settings
Goes from here forward, the Dot has an important hardware feature that the Mini surprisingly lacks -- a line-out jack. You can plug the Dot into your own speakers to make up for its own lack of sound quality. Both assistants -- and thus both speakers -- are very capable at this point and will adequately respond to most questions and commands you can think to throw at them. If you already own a Dot or an Echo, the Mini doesn't offer you anything compelling enough to warrant throwing away your current investment.
See your activity, delete it manually, or choose to delete it automatically. Control your privacy on Google Assistant with your voice. Ask questions like “Where can I change my privacy settings? ” to get answers to the most common privacy and security questions.
A few weeks ago we unveiled Google Home Mini, the newest addition to the Google Home family. About the size of a donut, it has all the smarts of the Google Assistant and gives you hands-free help in any room of your house. Starting today, you can grab it online from the Google Store or online or on shelves of Best Buy, Walmart, Target and other stores. Safety starts with understanding how developers collect and share your data. Data privacy and security practices may vary based on your use, region, and age.
Here, you’ll also find ways to get more out of your devices and improve your home setup. Such as "it's dinner time" to all of your connected smart speakers. Alexa and the Echo Dot, of course, have similar versions of each of these. Lock the front door, arm the security system, and turn on your cameras at the same time each night – automatically. Set the speaker to play your favorite party music on Friday evenings.2 Have your TV turn on when the living room lights go dark for movie night. Since the Google Home Mini has all of the same functionality as the Google Home, it makes a good entry-level smart speaker.
The Home Mini can also do everything the regular Google Home can do, but the larger device does provide richer sound that does a much better job filling a room. While there are privacy concerns with a device like Google Home Mini that is always listening for a wake word, Google is fairly transparent with what it records. You can access all of the recordings through your Google account and even turn off recording, although that does prevent some Google Home features from working. Matter devices connect to each other locally over your smart home network using Wi-Fi or Thread, making your devices more responsive, reliable, and secure. Matter devices work with your Google Home and other Matter-enabled devices, making it easier to build a smart home that helps with any need.
Both did a great job in a quiet setting, but required the occasional raised voice during music playback. Small speakers like the Mini aren't going to replace your full-scale home audio setup anytime soon. Still, Google made a point of saying that people would be surprised by how much sound the Mini can put out. Sure enough, it sounded stronger than I expected -- and noticeably stronger than the Echo Dot -- as I began testing it out. To wake it up, you say "OK, Google" or "Hey, Google," and then you give it a question or command.
Use the Home app to control on/off, volume, playback, inputs, and more for your connected streaming and media devices. Despite the lack of physical buttons, the Home Mini still has touch controls you can use. To adjust the volume, you tap the sides of the device, or you can long press the sides to play and pause music. Like all Google Home devices, the Home Mini is built around the Google Assistant virtual assistant, so it is operated almost entirely via voice commands.
The Home tab gives you shortcuts for the things you do most, like playing music or dimming the lights when you want to start a movie. Control it all with just a tap or two – and get to the good stuff faster. The Feed tab highlights important events in your home in one place.
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