Google Home Mini (2017)

884 reviews

Apr, 2024

Positive
usability (367)
price (201)
size (177)
design (127)
sound (80)

Negative
bass quality (2)
microphone (2)

General overview
Price comparison

alaTest has collected and analyzed 884 reviews of Google Home Mini (2017). The average rating for this product is 4.5/5, compared to an average rating of 4.5/5 for other products in the same category for all reviews. Reviewers are impressed by the sound and design. The size and price are also mentioned favorably. The bass quality and microphone get less positive views.

usability, price, size, design, sound

microphone, bass quality

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other products in the same category the Google Home Mini (2017) is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 90/100 = Excellent quality.

Review analysis

(Based on 884 reviews)

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Showing 1 - 10 of 531 Show Reviews: in English | in other languages (352)

Expert review by (engadget.com)

Google Home Mini review: Taking aim at the Echo Dot

The Google Home Mini is both affordable and capable -- for $49 it can pull up loads of information, control your music and videos and manage a wide variety of smarthome devices. Its tiny speaker sounds better than expected, though you probably won't...

Extremely affordable ; Does everything the bigger Google Home can do ; Manages many popular smarthome devices ; Speaker sounds pretty decent for its tiny size

Microphones aren't very good for voice calling ; Doesn't have as much third-party support as Amazon's Alexa ; Somehow still doesn't support professional Google accounts

There's no doubt that Google Home's capabilities have improved significantly over the past year. I called the original device "little more than a toy" last year, but now it's a legit competitor to Amazon's Echo and Alexa. The Echo might technically...

Oct, 2017

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Expert review by : Kim Wetzel (digitaltrends.com)

Google Home Mini review

Compact, yet powerful, the Google Home Mini is the best-sounding miniature smart speaker yet.

Individual voice recognition gives tailored responses ; Seamlessly integrates all the features of the Google platform ; Affordable, compact, and attractive ; Improved AI that responds quickly

Poor hands-free calling sound quality ; Spanish-speaking feature needs improvement

If you’re looking for a small, affordable home assistant, then the Google Home Mini is a great option. The small speaker is surprisingly loud and full sounding for its size, is able to understand voice commands from across the room, and integrates...

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Expert review by : Ry Crist Andrew Gebhart (cnet.com)

The Google Home Mini is a worthy competitor to the Amazon Echo Dot

It no longer matters which one came first. The Google Home Mini is ready to take its place alongside the Dot as one of the best affordable smart speakers out there.

The Google Home Mini puts all of the smarts of Google Assistant into a small and affordable package. The Mini sounds surprisingly good for its size and features a colorful design that can blend into your home's decor.

The Mini's touch controls aren't intuitive, it doesn't have a line-out jack like the Amazon Echo Dot, and the built-in Google Assistant still doesn't have quite as many features as the Dot's built-in assistant, Alexa.

The Google Home Mini stands tall as one of the best affordable smart speakers out there, along with the Amazon Echo Dot, but it doesn't do enough to supplant the Dot at the top of the list.

May, 2018

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Expert review by : Sascha Segan (pcmag.com)

Google Home Mini

The Google Home Mini smart speaker takes on Amazon's Echo Dot with a cute, fabric-covered design and Google Assistant smarts, but its lack of an audio out is a major bummer.

Inexpensive. Nice design. Better sound quality than the Echo Dot. Better at answering music-related queries than Alexa.

Lacks audio out. Google Home still offers less support for third-party services than Alexa.

When it comes to speakers, Google has the $50 Mini, the $129 Home, and the $399 Max. Google Assistant is also available on every recent Android phone, without you having to hunt down an app.

Oct, 2017

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Expert review by : Dan Seifert (theverge.com)

Google Home Mini review: chasing Dots

Google answers Amazon's small Echo with a tiny smart speaker of its own

Good sound quality for voice responses ; Attractive design ; Impulse purchase pricing

Fabric may not last long ; Limited audio output options ; Fewer smart home tricks than Amazon’s Alexa

The Google Home Mini is a $49 voice-controlled speaker that can be used to play music, control smart home gadgets, answer trivia questions, add things to a shopping list, create calendar appointments, or play video on a Chromecast-enabled screen.

Oct, 2017

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Expert review by : David Pierce (wired.com)

Google Home Mini Review: It's Smart, but Not on Its Own

It has some limitations, but it works well as an extension for a Pixel or Google Home.

Oct, 2017

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Expert review by : Ry Crist (cnet.com)

Google Home Mini review

If you want something from the internet, you Google it. We've been doing it for decades — more than a trillion searches per year by Google's own estimates. Google is so good at it that it gets to be its own verb.

The Google Home Mini is a stylish-looking speaker with surprisingly strong sound quality. The Google Assistant is a capable Alexa competitor, especially thanks to its ability to search out detailed answers to a wide variety of questions.

There isn't much the Home Mini does that Alexa can't do, too. It also lacks a line out jack, and requires Chromecast Audio in order to connect with at external speaker setup.

The Google Home Mini is a great device, and a no-brainer for existing Google Home users -- but it isn't the Echo Dot-killer Google probably needs it to be.

Oct, 2017

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Expert review by : Vincent Nguyen (slashgear.com)

Google Home Mini Review: Affordability comes at a cost

The Google Home Mini's existence is hardly a mystery: the squat little smart speaker is Google's retort to the Amazon Echo Dot. Packaging the virtues of the Google Assistant into a smaller, cheaper form factor than the existing Google Home , it's a $49...

Cheap way to try Google's voice features ; Discreet, cute design ; Google keeps adding features

Audio quality is poor ; No Bluetooth A2DP or 3.5mm output ; Echo Dot can still be found cheaper

Oct, 2017

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Expert review by : Michael Brown (techhive.com)

Google Home Mini review: It doesn’t outdo the Dot

But Google's answer to Amazon's Echo Dot couldn't have come soon enough.

Pretty design ; Google Assistant is more sophisticated than Amazon’s Alexa ; Low price makes it easy to deploy in multiples

Lousy for music reproduction ; Compared to Amazon's Echos, Google Home devices aren’t as broadly compatible with third-party products ; Can be paired only with Google Cast-enabled devices

As I said up top. If you’re already using a Google Home, buying one or more Google Home Minis is a no-brainer. Once you have a voice-controlled digital assistant in one room, you’ll want them all over the house. If you already have one, the Google Home...

Oct, 2017

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Expert review by : John Velasco (phonearena.com)

Google Home Mini smart speaker Review

Having seen so much success in such a short period, Google introduced a smaller, more "mini" edition of its popular smart speaker. Taking the recipe they established already with its offering last year, the Google Home Mini is prepping to widen...

Killer price at $49 ; Compact size doesn't take much room ; Simple design allows it to blend in seamlessly ; Same diverse Google Assistant functions as Google Home ; Increased support for home control devices

Underwhelming audio performance ; Touch surface isn't as responsive

Oct, 2017

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