![]() While it will try to answer any question you ask it, Alexa will more often than not return its favourite phrase: ‘Hmmm, I don’t know that one.’īut what we love most about Google Assistant is the ability to converse with it using very natural language, whereas Alexa prefers a more formulaic approach. Use both side by side for only a short while and you’ll see that Google Assistant is both more intelligent and more resourceful than Alexa. So while Alexa can handle the sort of queries that have a Wikipedia page, or shopping questions, Google Assistant can just run a web search for you and throw out the most likely result. Google Assistant doesn’t need you to search for and enable skills to answer your queries – this device hails from Google, the daddy of online search. Today tech manufacturers are queuing up to reveal these type of devices with Alexa, Google Assistant or Cortana (Microsoft’s offering) built in.Īmazon’s Echo family are brilliant devices, but you shouldn’t consider buying one if you don’t subscribe to Amazon Prime. And, for a long time, it had no real competition. It has also benefited from various Amazon deals days that see the Echo vastly reduced in price, making it worth a punt even if you’re not sure about the whole concept of smart speakers. ![]() But it does – for now – have better native support for smart-home services than does Google Assistant. It used some of that time to build up its ‘Skills’ database, albeit with thousands of entries you will likely never use, such as apps that can insult you or tell you what noise a dog makes when given a very specific command. So why is that? For a start Amazon Echo came out in the UK a good year before Google Home, giving it the head start it needed to find its way into consumer homes all over the country. Got a question only a Google search will resolve? You guessed it, ask Google Assistant. Not sure what you’re doing this weekend? Ask it. Need help solving a maths problem? Ask it. Fancy hearing the latest headlines? Ask it. Want to know the weather for the day ahead? Ask it. In its new compact home Google Assistant is the dogsbody you’ve always wanted. If you’ve purchased a new Android phone of late you may have already interacted with Google Assistant, but you’ll find it far more useful here. But that would be forgetting the Google Assistant, and that’s what rockets this tiny box way out of the league of ordinary wireless speakers. In our opinion, the music streaming and support for multi-room audio alone make the Google Home Mini worth it. Spotify Free accounts are also supported, but if you’re not paying the monthly Google Music subscription only your playlists will be accessible. This isn’t just a Bluetooth speaker, it’s also wireless, which means you can stream internet radio or connect it to your Google Play Music, Deezer, or Spotify account. It offers a fraction of the audio quality, too, but that doesn’t make us love it any less.īut you would be missing out on so much doing just this. Google Home, but the Mini offers the same functionality at a fraction of the price. It’s cheap enough that you could even purchase one for every room of the house, linking them together to blast music and broadcast messages throughout your home, and control smart-home kit without lifting a muscle. It’s since been replaced by the Nest Mini, which packs better audio and faster processing, but the Home Mini is still worth considering if you can find it at less than full price.Īrgos, and is often reduced in sales, making it one of the best and cheapest ways to get you on the road to a smart home. ![]() With surprisingly good – and loud – audio, full Google Assistant functionality and an incredible price, this could be the device you’re looking for to take your first steps into the world of smart speakers. The cheapest smart speaker in Google’s line-up, the Home Mini should not be underestimated.
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