The Google Home Mini made a global presence back in October 2017 & was introduced in India a bit late in April 2018. Half of 2018 has already passed & the Google Home Mini is moving forward to complete its 1st year of release. So, the question pops out. Do you need a Google Home Mini right now? Well, let’s break it down.
It’s been a while that I have purchased the Google Jome Mini & till now I have a very good idea on how fair is it to have in the real life & also if you should buy it right now or not.
Also Read: Improvements Needed In Google Home Mini
Google Home Mini Or Google Home
Now, when it comes to smart home speakers, the most important aspects are it’s functionality & sound output. The Google Home Mini has all the same functionality as the bigger Google Home & the Google Home Max but, in a smaller form factor & on a cheaper price point. That also means that you’re sacrificing a significant amount of the sound output. Yes, it isn’t as loud or as clarity rich as a regular Google Home because it basically has a single speaker when the regular home has three speakers firing in different directions. Yeah, that’s the whole compromise part.
However, as I’ve mentioned earlier, the functionality is exactly the same as it’s bigger & more expensive brothers. So, we have the power of Google Search which gives us access to a huge amount of information with simple voice commands.
So, you may ask it questions or maybe ask it to translate from your language to another language.
Example: “How far is the Milky Way?” or “How do you say Hello in Spanish?“. It can do all that.
Routines Features:
Also, just recently Google rolled out Routines for Google Home Devices which can be pretty helpful. So, you can set custom routines for several times like, Going to bed, Waking up in the morning, Coming back home & more.
For example, my Bedtime routine consists of three actions. So, I trigger this routine by saying “Good Night” & it tells me about the Weather, asks me for the timing of my morning alarm & then play Nature Sounds (in this case sounds of Rain).
Control Smart Home Devices:
Now, this is a smart home speaker so, we can also control smart home devices. So, Smart TVs, Smart Lightings, Smart Security Systems which are compatible with the Google Assistant, can be controlled with the Home Mini.
If you want to watch YouTube or Netflix videos on your TV, then you just have to give simple voice commands from your Google Home Mini & initiate the activity. Keep in mind, if you don’t have a Chromecast enabled Smart-TV then you need to have an external Chromecast plugged into your TV.
Other Things You Need To Know:
Okay, so that was about the Google Home Mini & as I have mentioned earlier, there is a single up-firing speaker & it can definitely be used for media consumption. If you’re using for places like a small office room or your bedroom, it’s can be reasonably loud. The quality will have some compromises for sure like the lows are not that well delivered. Otherwise, it’s pretty usable.
So, that’s kinda what the Google Home Mini does right now. There are some features that are still not available here in India like Continuous Conversation. Hands-free Calling is also available for US, Canada & UK as of now. There is also no port for the 3.5mm Headphone Jack so, connecting to external speakers via. Aux is not possible.
Final Words:
Now, the price is about 4499 Rupees in India & $49 in the US. But, in general, it is available for a lot less ( in India generally it is available for 4099 INR or even sometimes it falls to 3699 INR & in the United States the price drops a to $35 sometimes) & specially during sales, the price drops even more.
So, should you buy the Google Home Mini in 2018? Well, if you can get benefited from it’s usability then yes. It is still a great value for the money & until Google announces the next iteration of the Home Mini, this seems to be a great pick up.