Google Nest Mini Review

This year’s Made by Google event came chock-full of new product announcements, including the unveiling of the new, second-gen Nest Mini. The smart speaker replaces the Google Home Mini from 2017, which received much love as an easy entry into Google’s smart home ecosystem. The new Nest Mini looks almost identical to its predecessor, but it hides a few new tricks inside its compact shape. Is it worth the upgrade? In the box:

• Google Nest Mini
• Power cable
• Quick Start & Warranty Guides

Design

Put the Google Home Mini and Nest Mini side-by-side, and you’d be hard-pressed to find any significant difference visually. Like the older model, the new smart speaker is a round, almost-4-inch puck covered with fabric and outfitted with LED lights that light up when active.

One subtle difference is in the fabric – Google says the new fabric is made completely from recycled plastic bottles. The plastic base is also made partially from recycled plastic (at least 35%), reflecting Google’s commitment to creating more sustainable devices. Despite these changes, the device looks and feels basically like a Home Mini.

There’s also a new color to choose, a pastel blue called Sky. Speaking of color, the Nest Mini’s bottom is now the same color as the rest of the body, unlike the Home Mini. I’ve only seen the bottom of my speaker maybe three times, but the design is now more cohesive, should you have wanted that. There are two more significant changes in the design, the first of which is the keyhole mount on the bottom of the device, which allows you to easily mount it on a wall. The second is the power cable, which is no longer a micro-USB but rather a DC plug. It’s a bit of a head scratcher but not super consequential.

Regardless, the Nest Mini retains a gently rounded shape and sensible colors that give it an approachable, minimalist aesthetic. It’ll fit in just fine in a living room, kitchen, or bedroom.

Functionality

Of course, the whole point of having a smart speaker is to control your smart home and access a virtual assistant. Google’s ecosystem for smart home management is as robust as ever, and integrating the Nest Mini into my home took no effort. Google Assistant is also present, of course, and it’s always available with a quick “Hey Google”.

One change, though, is the Nest Mini’s new machine-learning engine, which apparently allows it to process your more frequent commands locally, so it can answer more quickly. To test this, I asked both the Home Mini and the Nest Mini about the weather in Minneapolis for three consecutive days – I’ve never been to Minneapolis, and I’m fairly certain I’ve never asked it that before. On the first and second days, both responded equally quickly after a brief pause. On the third day, the Nest Mini skipped the brief pause and launched straight into the forecast – so evidently the newer Mini’s brains learn quickly.

The Nest Mini also has an extra LED on each side to show you where to tap to adjust volume, which is a small but helpful touch. You can also tap the center to pause/play, as opposed to tapping and holding on the side of the older Home Mini.