Google home mini: what it is and what it is for, functions

New devices and technologies keep coming to our homes to make life easier. Google Home Mini is no exception, but what is it? What is it for? What functions can it perform? Today in Professional Review we show you.

Index of contents

What is Google Home Mini?

It is a smart speaker that serves as a central station for the Google Assistant, or Google Assistant. Through the Google Home application that we download on our mobile or tablet we can manage the accounts and other devices linked to it.

We have a complete Review where we analyze all its details, take a look: Google Home Mini Review in Spanish (Complete analysis).

The device itself consists of a 40mm speaker that emits 360º and reproduces many different types of sound formats apart from the most common ones, such as Vorbis, WAV (LPCM). In addition we can find two medium-range microphones to capture our voice and connection via WiFi and Bluetooth.

Physically, Google Home Mini only has the locatable button to mute the microphones, but apart from it we can touch the upper surface to lower or increase the volume, pause the playback or similar actions. Finally, also hidden behind the cloth mesh we can see four white LEDs that act as a sneak and inform us about the status of the speaker.

The functions of the wizard are performed using the command "OK Google", which you can find out more about here: OK Google: what it is and what it is for.

What is Google Home Mini for?

As we mentioned earlier, Google Home Mini is a smart speaker that serves as a home for Google Assistant. When we purchase it, we need to download the Google Home application from the Play Store and install it on our smartphone or tablet with our Google account.

We recommend reading: Google Assistant: What is it? All the information.

We must differentiate between the functions of Google Home Mini and those that are possible through third-party software.

Wizard features

Actually expressing it this way is incorrect since the functions are those of the Assistant, not those of Google Home Mini itself. The list of what is possible to do with the wizard seems to have no limit, and also the application receives constant software updates to optimize its performance.

We can set timers, alarms, music, news, translations, do calculations, request traffic information in our city and similar actions. The best thing about this part is not only what it can do, but it gets better the more we use it.

We have a very long article in which we list and explain all the functions that the wizard can perform: OK Google: how to activate it, list of commands and functions.

The Google Assistant is activated by the commands "Hey Google" or "OK ​​Google", which are necessary to activate the smart speaker before dictating what we need from it.

Features linked to the assistant

In addition to the many additional possibilities to the actions that the Assistant can carry out by itself, we can also play a series on Netflix or put music on the Google Home Mini linked to our Spotify or YouTube Music account.

Currently we can offer you a list of compatible applications, but it is likely that it will be expanded or modified later. The question comes in two facets: on the one hand we have the external devices with which Google Home is compatible exceed 10, 000, among them being smart bulbs, speakers, cameras, televisions or blinds. This section of home automation does not stop growing.

On the other hand, we have the applications or programs: Spotify, Netflix, YouTube, Philips Hue, HBO… All of them are linkable to our Google Home Mini through the app. Google Home or Chromecast.

For those of you who have your first contact with the Google Assistant, we recommend reading: Configure Google Home Mini STEP by STEP.

In conclusion

Google Home Mini brings with it many useful functions that are directly designed to make life easier for the user. Designed for an office or home environment, this device uses Google Assistant to meet our demands and is the reason why we cannot explain one without the other. The assistant can work without Google Home Mini, but the speaker needs the assistant (the application) to work correctly, as well as an internet connection.

We hope this article has been useful to you. We strongly recommend that you visit the links that we have left in each section to obtain a clearer global idea since there are many aspects of Google that are linked to each other. Also and as always, do not hesitate to write us in the comments if you have any questions.