Google Nest Mini in India: Everything You Need to Know

Google Nest Mini, the small-sized smart speaker by the search giant, went on sale in India earlier this week. The new model comes as a successor to the Google Home Mini that debuted globally in 2017 and was launched in the Indian market back in April last year. Google claims that the Nest Mini speaker is designed to offer a smarter and faster experience over the Home Mini. There is a dedicated machine learning chip to quickly process Google Assistant commands. Users can control their smart lights or cameras directly from the Home Mini speaker. Further, Google Nest Mini can be combined with other Nest smart speakers and displays to build a sound system.

Google Nest Mini price in India, availability details

The Google Nest Mini price in India is set at Rs. 4,499. The smart speaker is available for purchase through Flipkart since Monday in Chalk and Charcoal colour options. There is also a Coral colour option that is yet to arrive in India. To recall, Google unveiled the Nest Mini as the successor to the Home Mini at the Made By Google event in New York last month. The speaker is available in the US at $49 (roughly Rs. 3,200).

Google Nest Mini design, aesthetics

Looks wise, the Google Nest Mini is quite similar to the Google Home Mini with the same fabric top and plastic-made saucer-shaped enclosure. Google, however, has offered a wall-mount on the new model to let you maximise your shelf and counter space and hang the Nest Mini easily on your walls. When playing audio, the speaker turns on lights as you get closer. This helps to show you the volume controls. You can also tap on top of the Nest Mini to play or pause media. Furthermore, there is a Micro-USB port that lets you power the speaker.

Google claims that the fabric top of the Nest Mini is made from 100 percent recycled plastic bottles. Its external enclosure is also said to be made from at least 35 percent post-consumer recycled plastic.

Google Nest Mini specifications, features

One of the major use cases of Google Nest Mini is its ability to enable communication with Google Assistant. For this, the speaker includes three far-field microphones that are powered by Google's Voice Match technology. There is also a 40mm driver to produce 360-degree sound. Google claims that the speaker is designed to produce two times stronger bass than the original Google Home Mini.

The Google Nest Mini also has Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth v5.0. Further, there is Chromecast support. A button is also available on the Nest Mini to let you turn the mic off.

You can ask your questions to Google Assistant directly using the Nest Mini. You can listen to news or podcasts or set a timer or even ask for the weather by passing voice commands. Similarly, the Nest Mini can be used to play music tracks from services such as Gaana, JioSaavn, Spotify, Wynk, and YouTube Music. There is also an option to group multiple Nest Mini speakers or other Nest speakers or displays to play music tracks throughout the house or move music or podcasts between compatible devices by using stream transfer.

Google has provided Family Link to let parents create accounts of children under 13 and create a smart experience for their entire family. There is also an intercom feature that requires at least two Nest speakers or displays to communicate simply using Google Assistant. You can also use the Google Home app on your smartphone to turn your Google Nest Mini into a home phone and call your loved ones while on-the-go. Additionally, the Google Nest Mini can be connected with smart home devices from brands such as Philips Hue and Syska among others to dim the lights or change the ambient lighting conditions using voice commands.

The Google Nest Mini is powered by a quad-core 64-bit ARM CPU, clocked at 1.4GHz. It is paired with the machine learning hardware engine. The speaker is designed to work with Android and iOS via the Google Home app. It comes bundled with a 1.5-metre cable. Moreover, the speaker has a diameter of 9.8cm and height of 4.2cm. It carries a weight of 181 grams.