Google Nest Mini Review
Verdict
A slight improvement over the original speaker, the Google Nest Mini is a gentle evolution. We love the new wall-mount option, giving you more options of where to place the smart speaker, but the new touch controls are only of minor use. Improved bass response makes this speaker sound better than the original Google Home Mini but it's still not ideal for listening to music and this is very much a smart speaker first. If you've got the original Mini there's little to warrant you upgrading here; for new customers, this is the best small Google Assistant speaker.
Pros
- Wall mount option
- Simple touch controls
- Speech sounds better thanks to better bass
Cons
- Few improvements over the original
- No 3.5mm audio jack
Key Specifications
- Review Price: £49.99
- Google Assistant
- 98 x 98 x 42mm
- 802.11ac Wi-Fi
- Volume, play/pause, microphone mute
- 1x 40mm driver
While Amazon has refreshed its Echo Dot line three times, and more recently has added the Echo Dot with Clock, the Google Home Mini hasn’t been touched since 2017. Today, we finally have the successor, but it’s not the Google Mini 2 but rather the Google Nest Mini.
This follows Google’s current trend of rebranding its speakers under the Nest brand, such as the Google Nest Hub and Google Nest Hub Max. Aside from the name, there are a few little changes inside that make the Google Nest Mini a small evolution of the previous product, rather than something completely new.
Design
- The same size and shape as the old Google Home Mini, bar the new wall-mounting eyelet
- There are tap controls to manage volume
- No 3.5mm sound output
Put the Google Nest Mini next to the Google Home Mini and it’s a game of spot the difference with both speakers measuring 98 x 98 x 42mm. From an initial glance, you’d be hard-pushed to see any real difference, bar that the old speaker was powered by a micro USB connector and the new model has a round power adaptor.
To be fair to Google, it’s not as though its tiny speaker needed much of a redesign. While Amazon has evolved from the plastic Echo Dot to the nicer-looking Echo Dot 3rd Gen and Echo Dot with Clock, the Google Home Mini was nice from the start, with a curved, material clad, hockey-puck-like exterior.
It looks like its predecessor but that’s OK, as this is one good-looking smart speaker
It’s more of the same for the Google Nest Mini, with the speaker available in Chalk (white and grey), Charcoal (black), Coral (pictured) and Sky (blue). The big difference is that the material is now made from recycled plastic bottles.
Power the speaker on and there are some other subtle differences. With the Google Home Mini, you could tap the sides to change volume; you can still do that with the Nest Mini, only there are now LED indicators that show you where to tap. If you want to pause or resume music playback you can now tap the top of speaker. Of course, the original Google Home Mini was supposed to be touch-sensitive, however the sensor was broken and Google disabled it just after launch.
LED indicators make it easier to see where you can tap
Around the back, you get the microphone mute switch, so you can stop the speaker listening in. Turn the speaker over and you see something different: a hanging hook so that you can wall-mount the speaker. That’s handy if you don’t have a lot of space and want to keep the speaker out of the way.
You can turn off the microphone if you want privacy
Internally, there’s a new machine learning chip, which is designed so that the speaker can respond to commonly-used voice commands faster.
There’s still no 3.5mm sound output for hooking the Nest Mini up to external speakers, which is a bit frustrating given the Echo Dot has this and there’s even the cheaper Echo Input. You can use Bluetooth to connect external devices to this speaker, though.
Features
As with Google’s other smart speakers, the Google Nest Mini is powered by the cloud-based Google Assistant. That means that this speaker has the same range of features as every other device, which I’ve covered in more detail in my Google Assistant Guide.
Generally, I find the Google Assistant a bit more conversationally adapt than Amazon Alexa, and as the personal assistant can look up answers from Google search and Google maps, it’s answers to general questions tend to be more accurate. There are still some frustrating issues, though, such as not being able to get calendar results if you use a G Suite account.
Smart home control has got a lot better, with the Google Assistant supporting almost the same range of devices (but not quite) as Amazon Alexa. It has to be said that Amazon Alexa routines are more powerful than the Google Assistant routines.
The three farfield microphones and new machine learning chip are supposed to make the Google Nest Mini quicker to respond and more accurate at distance. It’s hard to quantify this, especially as I never really had any issues with the original speaker. All I can say is that the Nest Mini generally picked up what I was saying correctly.
Sound Quality
With the Google Home Mini sounding quite weak, the Google Nest Mini has been updated with more powerful audio inside. According to Google, bass is 40% stronger, and the system still has 360-degree sound with a 40mm driver.
Bass certainly is better, and it makes a difference when you ask Google a question, with the voice replies easier to hear than on the original. The extra bass provides additional warmth to the response. When it comes to music, I’m still not a fan, with the Google Nest Mini sounding a little harsh and a bit tinny at the high end. This isn’t a speaker that I’d listen to a lot of music on, although it is useful if you want to control your Sonos system.
You should buy it if…
- You want simple smart home control
This cheap speaker is easy to add to any room, giving you voice control where you need it.
- You want to wall mount it
With the eyelet at the back, the Google Nest Mini can be hung on a wall giving you more positioning.
The wall mount option is handy but it’s probably not worth upgrading for?
You should not buy it if…
- You have the old Mini speaker
There’s really nothing different here compared to the old model.
- You want a speaker for music
If you want a smart speaker that’s good for music, look elsewhere as the audio quality here is basic.
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FAQs
Yes it is wireless only, connecting to your home Wi-Fi network.
Yes you can, you can tell Google to go into pairing mode.
Not any more, this feature has been disabled.
Specs
Trusted Score
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Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.