Five things we want from the Google Home Mini 2

Can you imagine it has already been practically two years since the Google Home Mini was launched? The $35 speaker lastly gave Google an actual competitor to the Amazon Echo Dot, and with what number of occasions the Mini has gone on sale or been bundled with seemingly-unrelated merchandise, having a handful of Minis in a single house has turn out to be pretty widespread.

As good as the speaker is, there are undoubtedly just a few methods it may very well be improved that (most likely) would not increase the worth. We already mentioned what we want from the Google Home 2, so here is our want checklist for a Home Mini sequel.

Controls that are not horrible

The solely bodily controls on the Home Mini are the mute button on the again and a reset button on the backside — you could have faucet the sides to regulate the quantity, which is not tremendous intuitive.

Pressing down on the high used to activate Assistant, however that perform was eliminated completely after our personal Artem Russakovskii found the sensor falsely detected touches 1000’s of occasions a day, sending unintended voice recordings to Google every time. Artem’s skill to seek out bugs in tech merchandise has no equal.

Where are my buttons?

While it is nearly sure that the Home Mini 2 will convey again the skill to activate Assistant with out saying “OK Google,” basic enhancements to the controls could be a lot appreciated. The Echo Dot has bodily buttons, however a Galaxy Watch-style rotating bezel to regulate the quantity could be good too.

Stereo pairing

Most competing good audio system supply stereo pairing, the place you may set one speaker as the left channel and one other as the proper. Not solely does the Echo Dot assist this characteristic, which is the Home Mini’s fundamental competitors, but it surely additionally works on the Apple HomePod, varied Sonos audio system, the Google Home Max, and even the Assistant-powered Insignia audio system (that are sadly now discontinued).

Stereo pairing was on our checklist for the Google Home 2, however the Mini ought to undoubtedly have it too. Bonus factors if this can be delivered in a software program replace to the unique Mini.

Audio output

Now that the Chromecast Audio has been discontinued for months, there is not any simple technique to flip an current speaker setup right into a Cast speaker. Amazon, on the different hand, has embraced audio outputs — the Echo Dot already had a 3.5mm jack, however the smaller Echo Input is particularly designed to show your current audio system into good audio system.

The second-gen Echo Dot. Google, take notes.

It could be an enormous disgrace if the new Mini did not have a 3.5mm audio output. Cast-enabled audio system are far more widespread now than they had been when the Chromecast Audio was first launched, however that does not assist individuals who have already got premium audio setups, or anybody trying to get just a little additional mileage out of a favourite speaker.

Wall mount

Thanks to its low bodily profile, the Home Mini works simply as properly vertically-mounted as sitting on a desk. There are loads of third-party wall adapters and mounts for that goal, however a extra official answer could be…