Jordan O'BrienWe’re still well over a week away before Google announces brand-new hardware at an event scheduled for October 4, but that isn’t stopping us from learning all about the new products early.
Rumours surrounding the Google Home Mini only began last month, although thanks to a leak, the device has been fully revealed early. Essentially this new smart home speaker is a direct competitor to the Amazon Echo Dot, with it even tipped to be offered at the exact same price; $49.
Unlike the full-size Google Home, this new Google Home Mini is expected to offer less in the way of after-market customisation, although it will be available in several colours. From the information released by Droid Life it would appear that the colours consist of Chalk, Charcoal and Coral.
The Google Home Mini will be almost identical to the Amazon Echo Dot in several ways. This includes its need to be plugged into a wall to operate, meaning this speaker isn’t a wireless alternative to the Google Home. This has been a major criticism of the Echo Dot, and it’s odd to see Google not offer a wireless alternative, although like with the Echo Dot, it’s likely that third-party manufacturers will come up with some sort of battery dock for the Google Home Mini.
There isn’t anything particularly special about the Google Home Mini versus the standard Google Home. Users can still expect to converse with the Google Assistant for controlling smart home products, catching up on the latest news, or asking simple questions, while there are also LEDs that light up on the top of the device when the device is listening to a specific command.
The Google Home Mini is expected to be officially launched on October 4.