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We found the HomePod Mini especially easy to set up with our iPhone, thanks to a quick pairing process that only took about three minutes. Alexa, on the other hand, relies on the installation of skills – individual, app-like sets of related voice commands focussing on certain topics or abilities. Handled and activated through the Alexa app on smartphones, these can range from getting information on local transport times, or to activating voice-controlled games. Sure, it’s a step up from your phone’s speakers, but not a match for a decent, dedicated Bluetooth speaker. For the Nest Mini, Google Nest doubled the bass and made it possible for the speaker to adjust its volume based on the level of background noise in the room.
You can set Alexa to wish you a happy birthday and sing you a song, or tell a joke. If you ask me, sometimes it’s a real struggle to trigger it, especially if you are standing a a few feet away from the device — a problem which doesn’t exist for the Echo Dot. Apart from that, it has a distinctive LED status ring, which lights up in shades of blue when you trigger it. Sign up for a free Dice profile, add your resume, discover great career insights and set your tech career in motion.
Google Home Mini vs. Amazon Echo Dot: Hardware
However, lots of users who have put the two devices head-to-head believe Google Assistant could be the smarter of the two. Learning experience, and wider variety of voices than Alexa, it has the biggest potential for the future. While the Echo Dot features a hockey puck-shape with fabric-covered sides and button on top, the Google Home Mini has a puck-shape and encases its touch-sensitive controls beneath a fabric. The Echo Dot is available in charcoal, heather gray or sandstone. Google Assistant, meanwhile, uses the Google Shopping platform, so it has a wider reach.
With Google Nest Mini, there are fewer compatible music services sources, but you can use Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, Deezer, and Google Play Music, among other options. In 2019, Google revamped its Nest brand with a new focus on privacy — some compatibility partnerships ended, some continued, and some were stuck in development limbo for the foreseeable future. This has slowly worked itself out over time, but Nest compatibility is simply more limited, and you’ll need to study each smart device carefully to make sure it’s compatible with the Nest Mini.
Features
It got notably louder than the Nest Audio and HomePod Mini in our side-by-side tests, and doesn’t get noticeably distorted at full volume. Stay updated on the latest products and services anytime, anywhere. This is for volume up, volume down, and you can tap on the middle to play and pause music. Also, there is a hole on the bottom of the device so you can hang this on a wall if you wanted to. But I guess that's to be expected, because this device did come out in 2019.
Order my usual from Domino’s.” The voice assistant will then send your order to Domino’s for delivery. For example, if you have Philips Hue White A19 60-watt LED Smart Bulbs you can ask Alexa to turn them on or off. Turn off Philips Hue in the living room.” You can even do this after you left the house using the Echo Dot app. For what it's worth, I took to Twitter with a couple of videos comparing the way the two speakers sound, and polled my followers as to which they preferred in each case. The new Dot was the clear favorite, earning about 80 percent of the votes in each test.
Design and functionality
But as far as the device hardware, the Echo Dot did get an upgrade this year, where the Nest Mini is still running on 2019 hardware. When it comes to music providers, both of these devices support the major streaming services. While both sound much better than you may expect given the small size, you can only get so much volume out of such a tiny package.
Chromecast built-in is a technology that allows users to stream entertainment and apps from their phone, tablet, or laptop, straight to the Chromecast-enabled device. Each is fairly good at hearing commands, even when you’re in a different room. While the Dot features a seven far-field microphone array that on paper appears more impressive than the Mini’s two far-field microphone setup, most users haven’t noticed a dramatic difference between the two. If you're looking for a small Echo speaker, your best best then is the Echo Spot, which despite its size, offers a richer sound.
Amazon Echo vs Google Home: audio
You can get similar functionality out of Google Home, but you'll likely spend more time on it. You'll frequently find them on sale or included with other hardware as package deals so you might get them for even less. Resolution is an essential indicator of a screen's image quality, representing the maximum amount of pixels that can be shown on the screen.
While the Google Home Mini has outperformed the Echo Dot in the past, providing deeper, richer sound, this is no longer the case. The 3rd generation Dot features a 1.6” speaker and a larger driver than previous generations, producing up to 70 percent better sound than before. You’ll really hear the difference when streaming music, but even calls sound better with the Dot. The Mini produces a slightly tinny sound that can make it difficult to make out what the person on the other line is saying. The 4th Gen Dot sounds significantly louder than the Nest Mini. But the Echo Dot’s microphones simply aren’t as sensitive to voice commands.
That said, just because you use an Android phone and Gmail doesn’t mean you should rule out the Echo Dot. The Home Mini does not offer Bluetooth output, nor does it have a wired audio-output option. However, if you have a Chromecast speaker, such as the JBL Playlist, or Chromecast Audio dongles connected to a sound system, you can cast the Home Mini’s sound output to that speaker via Wi-Fi.
If privacy is a concern, the Echo Dot includes a button that turns off the microphone and disconnects it from the internet. I'd say that yes, the two are at least on equal footing as far as strength of sound is concerned. But whether or not the new Dot sounds better than the Home Mini is really up to the listener. Some of us preferred the fuller-sounding Dot, while others thought that the Home Mini offered slightly better clarity. We’ve tested the Echo, Nest Audio and HomePod Mini extensively, and are ready to help you make that decision.
They're both very capable smart assistants that respond to voice commands and work well with many smart home devices. Read our full head-to-head below to get a better idea of the specifics. To be clear, you can use an Echo as a Bluetooth speaker as well, but Apple’s HomePod Mini lacks the same feature.
It is usually used in combination with a woofer to produce deep bass tones. Both are round and can fit in the palm of your hand, making them easy to place discreetly around the home. The choice really then comes down to the preference of ecosystem as opposed to the hardware. Then Google Home is probably for you, as the two areas are only going to become ever-more-closely linked.
Google Home Mini vs Echo Dot: A Side-by-Side Comparison
However, it keeps its four physical buttons on top for volume up, volume down, microphone mute, and the action button to activate Alexa without having to say the wake word. On the back, you're going to find a power port with a 3.5 millimeter auxiliary jack to connect this to an external speaker or to a better sound system. That said, both can connect to mainstream smart home tech like Philips Hue lighting, smart locks, power outlets and more. While Alexa control is available on more than 12,000 devices, Google is quickly expanding its offerings. Odds are the tech you need to sync with can be found on both lists.
On the contrary, the Mini can still sound mellow even when the volume is maximum. When it comes to productivity, the Google Home Mini has plenty of tricks. For instance, you can get the timings of nearby shops or banks. Moreover, it can double up as a remote when you’re watching your favorite Netflix shows. Overall, their small size lets you place them anywhere in the room.
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