86 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 68
While the Nest Mini’s hidden capacitive buttons
are certainly clever and lend a cleaner look to the
speaker’s design, there’s something to be said for
physical buttons with clearly marked functionality
– and yes, we’re mainly thinking about the Amazon
Echo Dot, with volume and mic mute buttons that
sit in plain sight on the top of the device.
Chatting with Google Assistant
Of course, you’ll spend a lot more time talking to the
Nest Mini than tapping it. Thanks to the vast pool of
searchable knowledge at Google’s disposal, Google
Assistant remains the smartest of the digital assistants
we’ve tried, regularly doling out answers to questions
A pair of LEDs on the Nest
Mini light up when you
hand approaches, letting
you know where to tap to
adjust the volume
