ISSUE 44 • ANDROID ADVISOR 67REVIEWBut you would be missing out on so much doing
just this. This isn’t just a Bluetooth speaker, it’s also
wireless, which means you can stream Internet radio
or connect it to your Google Play Music or Spotify
account. Spotify Free accounts are also supported,
but if you’re not paying the monthly Google Music
subscription only your playlists will be accessible.
In our opinion, the music streaming and support for
multi-room audio alone make the Google Home Mini
worth its £49 price tag. But that would be forgetting
the Google Assistant, and that’s what rockets this
tiny box way out of the league of ordinary wireless
speakers. If you’ve purchased a new flagship Android
phone this year you may have already interacted with
Google Assistant, but you’ll find her far more useful
here. In her new compact home Google Assistant is
the dogsbody you’ve always wanted.
Want to know the weather for the day ahead? Ask
her. Fancy hearing the latest headlines? Ask her. Need
help solving a maths problem? Ask her. Not sure what
you’re doing this weekend? Ask her. Got a question
only a Google search will resolve? You guessed it,
ask Google Assistant.
The Google Assistant tells jokes, funny stories and
interesting facts, she can host quiz games, sing you
happy birthday, help the children with their homework,
set alarms and timers, play music and cast videos,
movies and photo slide shows to your TV.
If you have any smart tech in your home – lights,
heating, switches and so on – she can control it, and
if she doesn’t already have integrated support you’ll
likely be able to configure it through IFTTT, which is