The early part of the 21st Century saw a rapid rise in technology. And it was not just technology in cars or technology for rockets and planes, there was a big growth in the technology used as personal devices too. Technological items used as personal items include smartphones, laptops, desktops, smart speakers, etc.
The years after 2010 saw a rapid rise in these so-called ‘smart’ devices. There were a lot of such smart devices, such as smart fridges, smart cars, smart TVs, smart speakers, and the most common, smartphones.
Amazon made the Echo, Apple made the Homepod, and in a much similar manner, Google also launched its smart speakers. Two of them being the Google Nest Mini and the Google Home Mini.
Google Nest Mini vs Google Home Mini
The main difference between the Google Nest Mini and the Google Home Mini is that the Nest Mini has better functionality and accessibility than the Home Mini.
Since the Nest Mini belongs to the second generation of the smart speakers produced by Google, hence it comes with more features such as more number of microphones which result in better reception, a better and more powerful speaker, and a wall-mount which makes it easier to place the Nest Mini on vertical surfaces.
Comparison Table between Google Nest Mini and Google Nest Mini
| Parameters of Comparison | Google Nest Mini | Google Home Mini |
| Generation | Google Nest Mini is a second generation version of the Google Home Mini. | Google Home Mini is the first generation of Google Smart Speakers. |
| Price | The Nest Mini has a price slightly lower than Home Mini. This however may vary by small amounts depending on the region. | Home Mini is usually priced higher than the Nest Mini. |
| Release Date | Nest Mini came out in 2020. | The Home Mini came out in 2017. |
| Mount | Nest Mini has a built in wall mount for convenience. | Home Mini does not have any built in wall mounts. |
| Microphones | The Nest Mini has three microphones. | The Home Mini has two microphones. |
What is Google Nest Mini?
Google Nest Mini is the second generation of smart speakers that has been created by the tech giant Google. The Nest is a successor to the hugely successful Home Mini and it also brings about a few changes to the speakers Google has been making. In addition to that, one more interesting fact is that even though there are more features in the Nest than in the Home, however, Google managed to keep the price of the Nest almost equal to that of the Home, and infact in some areas the price of the Nest is actually lower than the price of the Home.
Other than that, the main features of the Nest include three microphones. Earlier, the Home had only two microphones. This did not provide much of a problem or any performance issue, however, Google had decided to bring about another microphone for more accuracy. This number is however still very much lower than one of the biggest competitors of the Nest, the Amazon Echo Dot. The Echo Dot has four microphones, while the bigger Echo has seven microphones. Another necessary feature of the Nest Mini is that it has a built in wall mount, and hence it can be perched on vertical surfaces where there is a hook. This helps keeping the Nest Mini in smaller places.
On the software side, the Nest Mini has the Google Assistant built inside it. The user interacts with the Google Assistant when they use the Nest Mini and if the person uses an Android phone, then they are in the Google ecosystem, which makes integrating the phone and the Nest Mini very seamless.
What is Google Home Mini?
Google Home Mini is among the first generation of smart speakers that have been made by Google. Since most of the tech industry has been quickly branching out to various other devices and make them equipped with the internet, thus it was about time that Google also came out with their own series of smart speakers to maintain an edge in the market. One can clearly see how the ‘Internet of Things’ or IoT is slowly taking shape in the tech industry, with slowly more and more devices getting connected to the internet.
The Home Mini has brought a lot of features, and not only is it able to control a user’s phone over the internet, it is able to control any smart device that is compatible with the Home Mini and is connected to the internet.
The shape of the Home Mini is similar to the shape of a small puck. It has a cloth textured top and a plastic bottom. There are four LEDs on the top which light up when performing an action, thus indicating that it is active. The Home Mini is available in four colors, which have been names by Google as Aqua, Chalk, Charcoal, and Coral. The diameter of the Google Home Mini is about 10cm (4 inches).
Main Differences Between Google Nest Mini and Google Home Mini
- The main difference between the Google Nest Mini and the Google Nest Mini is that the Nest Mini is the successor generation to the Home Mini and brings about more accessibility features. Google brought out its series of smart speakers in 2016 and the Home Mini was released in 2017. They renamed the next generation with the name Nest. The Nest Mini is a smaller version of the larger Nest.
- The Nest Mini has a slightly lower price than the Home Mini, however, some places have prices that are roughly equal.
- The Nest Mini was released in 2020, while the Home Mini was released in 2017.
- The Nest Mini has a built-in wall mount, while the Home Mini does not. This makes it easier to place the Nest MIni in small places.
- The Nest Mini has three microphones while the Home Mini has only two.
Conclusion
It is marvelous to see how far technology has come along, and how the internet is slowly wrapping itself around in all our day to day usage items. However, having a device that constantly listens and records your conversations might be an issue of privacy to the users, and it is upto the companies and regulatory bodies to ensure that no data is being misused. Otherwise, for many who have a lot of smart devices in their homes, having one device to control all of them by voice seems very useful.
References
- https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2725913
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17483107.2017.1369589