Google Home Mini vs Google Home

In Google I/O 2017, Google Home Mini and Google Home Max were introduced to the Google Home family.

So, there are 3 products under the Google Home line: Home, Mini and Max.

Google Home Mini was released in October 2017. Google Home Max will be released in December 2017.

So, many potential Google Home users are wondering the difference between Google Home Mini and Google Home. They need some recommendation on whether they should get a Google Home or a Google Home Mini.

This Google Home Mini guide tries to explain the difference between Google Home and Google Home Mini to help you decide whether you should get Google Home or Google Home Mini.

Please note, the second generation of Google Home was released as Nest Audio, and the 2nd Gen Google Home Mini as Nest Mini.

Google Home Mini vs Google Home: size matters

As suggested by the name, Google Home Mini is a mini version of Google Home.

The size of Google Home Mini is substantially smaller than Google Home.  The height of Google Home Mini is only about 42 mm (1.65 inches). In comparison, Google Home is about 142.8 mm (5.62 inches) high. The diameter of Google Home and Home Mini is similar: 96.4 mm ( 3.79 in, Google Home) vs 98 mm(3.86″, Mini).

The weight of Google Home is about 477g (1.05 lbs, excluding cables); while Google Home Mini is only about 173g (0.38 lbs).

For speakers, normally, the heavier, the better.

So, without checking inside, it is easy to assume Google Home has better audio quality than Google Home Mini.

This is generally correct.

But, you should not underestimate the audio quality and loudness of the small Google Home Mini. It is far better than many similarly-sized speakers.

Google Home Mini vs Google Home: price matters

Google Home Mini surely is not a replacement for Google Home.

They are targeted for different usages and different markets.

Google Home is priced at $129 as a mainstream smart speaker.

The $49 price point of Google Home Mini puts it as a budget smart device (neck and neck with Echo Dot).

As both Google Home and Google Home Mini can be connected to casting-enabled speakers (or Chromecast, or Chromecast Audio), you may not care too much about the difference between Google Home and Google Home mini if you already have a casing device with decent speakers.

Google Home Mini vs Google Home: changeable base

Google Home has a changeable base. You can use a metal base (printed steel which is actually just polycarbonate/hard plastic) or a fabric base.

You can choose one of the 7 available colours for the base for Google Home: coral, mango, marine, violet (for fabric), copper, snow or carbon (for metal).

Of course, the base for Google Home is not free. It will cost you $20 (fabric) or $40 (metal).

Google Home Mini does not offer any customization. The top of Google Home Mini is covered with a textured fabric. There are 3 colour options for the fabric: chalk, charcoal or coral (red).

Google Home Mini vs Google Home: different ways to control

As explained in Google Home layout, you can use the top touch panel to adjust volume, pause/resume music, stop an alarm, or cancel a command.

For Google Home Mini, the control is different due to the lack of a touch panel.

You can tap the left side to lower the volume of Google Home Mini (and the right side to raise the volume).  If you tap the middle, it will pause music, stop the alarm, or cancel a command.

Google Home Mini vs Google Home: service port

In Google Home, there is a deactivated USB port at the bottom.  It may be enabled in the future through a firmware update.

Google Home Mini does not have such a service port.

Google Home Mini vs Google Home: no differences in functions and features

Although the two products are substantially different as mentioned above, Google Home and Google Home Mini do not have any differences in functions and features.

There are identical in features and functions.

Whatever you can do with Google Home (Google assistant,  casting,  using it as Bluetooth speaker…)  can be done in Google Home Mini in a similar way.

Google Home Mini vs Google Home: which one is for you?

It actually depends on your budget.

If you want to get a smart speaker with less than a $50 budget, Google Home Mini is the best option. It is far better than Amazon’s Echo Dot.

If you can raise your budget to $130, Google Home is the choice.

Please note, unlike Amazon Echo Dot, Google Home Mini does not have a 3.5mm audio output port. This means you cannot hook Google Home Mini to a bigger speaker.

Do you know the difference between Google Home Mini and Google Home? Do you know which one is for you?

If you have any questions or want to share your thoughts on Google Home Mini vs Google Home, please let us know in the comment box below.

The community will help you.

Other guides for Google Home Mini and Nest Mini can be found in the Google Home Mini Guides section.

Guides for Google Home and Google Home Max are listed in the Google Home Guides section.

If you have any question on Google Home Hub, Nest Hub (including 2nd Gen), or Nest Hub Max, you may check the Nest Hub Guides section.

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