The Google Nest Mini is a small, budget-friendly speaker with built-in Google Assistant capabilities. It's voice-activated and can understand you even if you aren't close to the speaker. However, it doesn't get very loud, and because it's only powered by AC, it isn't suitable for outdoor use. Its default sound profile lacks a lot of low-bass, but there are bass and treble adjustments in the Google Home app to help you customize its sound. While it has built-in Chromecast capabilities, its latency over this connection is likely too high to be suitable for watching videos or movies, which is a bit disappointing.
Our Verdict
The Google Nest Mini is middling for music. Its balanced mid and treble ranges reproduce clear and accurate vocals and lead instruments. However, it's lacking a lot of low-bass, so you don't feel the deep thump and rumble in bass-heavy genres like hip-hop. It doesn't get very loud, either, and it has to downmix stereo content into mono to play it, which doesn't sound as immersive. On the upside, there are bass and treble adjustments to help you customize its sound profile.
- Bass and treble adjustments.
- Doesn't get very loud.
- Downmixes stereo content to mono.
The Google Nest Mini is poor for videos and movies. While it can reproduce vocals and dialogue clearly and accurately, it lacks low-bass, so you don't feel the deep thump and rumble in action-packed scenes. It doesn't get very loud, either, and there's compression when you play it at max volume. Also, its latency with iOS and Android devices and with Chromecast is likely too high to be suitable for watching videos. However, some apps compensate for latency, so your real-world experience can vary.
- Bass and treble adjustments.
- Doesn't get very loud.
- Downmixes stereo content to mono.
- High latency.
The Google Nest Mini isn't bad for podcasts. Its balanced mid-range can reproduce vocals clearly and accurately. However, this speaker doesn't get very loud, and there's a lot of compression at max volume. Also, because it's powered by AC, it isn't very portable.
- Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Chromecast compatibility.
- Doesn't get very loud.
The Google Nest Mini is great for voice assistant. It has built-in Google Assistant capabilities. You can activate the speaker using your voice, and it can understand you even if you're far away from it. There's also a mic mute switch so you can control when the speaker is listening to you. Unfortunately, it doesn't get very loud.
- Built-in Google Assistant capabilities.
- Mic mute switch.
- Doesn't get very loud.
The Google Nest Mini is only powered by AC, so it has to be plugged into an outlet to work. As a result, it isn't suitable for outdoor use.
Changelog
- Updated Jul 19, 2024: We've updated this review to clarify that we tested the 2nd generation version of this speaker rather than the 1st-generation Google Home Mini.
- Updated Aug 24, 2023: Updated the Portability picture for greater clarity and consistency between reviews.
- Updated Aug 22, 2023: Added market comparison with the Amazon Echo Pop in the App box.
- Updated Jan 06, 2021: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Google Nest Mini comes in several different color variants: 'Sky,' 'Coral,' 'Charcoal,' and 'Chalk.' We tested the 'Sky' variant; you can see the label for the model we tested here. We expect the other color variants to perform similarly.
We tested the 2nd Generation variant of this speaker, which comes with a few additional features compared to its predecessor, including stereo pairing with other Mini speakers. The 1st Generation variant (sold as the Google Home Mini) may perform differently than our model.
If you come across another version of this speaker, let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Speaker Comparisons
The Google Nest Mini is a small, stylish speaker with built-in Google Assistant capabilities. The speaker can understand you even if you aren't close to it, and you can mute the microphone when you want. Like other Google speakers, you can pair it with other Nest Mini speakers to create stereo pairs. While it has built-in Chromecast capabilities like the Google Home Max, its latency is much higher, so it may not be suitable for watching videos or movies.
The Google Nest Mini (2nd Gen) and the Amazon Echo Dot Gen 4 are similar speakers, so depending on your usage habits, you may prefer one over the other. The Amazon is better for voice assistants since it has a better ambient noise performance, so the voice assistant can understand you better in noisy settings. While the Amazon speaker has built-in Alexa support, the Google speaker has built-in Google Assistant. Unlike the Amazon model, the Google one also supports Chromecast.
The Apple HomePod mini is a better choice for music and videos than the Google Nest Mini (2nd Gen). Its default sound profile is better balanced with a more extended low-bass and a better soundstage performance. The Apple comes with Siri built-in, while the Google features Google Assistant.
The Google Nest Audio and the Google Nest Mini (2nd Gen) are very similar speakers with great voice assistant performances thanks to their built-in Google Assistant capabilities. However, the Nest Audio is better for music and watching videos. The Nest Audio has a more extended bass, and it can get louder. Also, it has lower latency over a Chromecast connection.
The Amazon Echo Gen 4 is a better speaker than the Google Nest Mini (2nd Gen). The Amazon can produce a much more extended low-bass than the Google and can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono, resulting in a more immersive soundstage. It offers outstanding voice assistant support with Alexa built-in and can easily understand you from far and in noisier rooms. The Google comes with Google Assistant built-in and supports Chromecast, though it has high latency over this connection.
Test Results
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