Smart Home & Wearables
Google Nest Mini (2nd Gen) Review: A Small, Cheap Way Into Google Assistant
- Brand:
- Ages:
- 13+ years
- Updated:
- 2026-08-03
The verdict
The Nest Mini remains a genuinely solid, cheap entry point into Google Assistant and a Google-based smart home — buy it for hands-free voice control, timers, and smart home commands, not as a real music speaker.
Pros
- One of the most affordable ways into Google Assistant and Chromecast built-in group audio, typically priced around $49
- Improved bass and a stronger 40mm driver over the original Home Mini it replaced, noticeably fuller for its small size
- Wall-mountable design with a built-in hook slot, giving placement flexibility beyond just tabletop use
- Physical mic-mute switch provides a hardware-level privacy cutoff, not just a software toggle
Cons
- Small single speaker is fine for voice responses and casual listening, but not a substitute for a real music speaker
- No headphone jack or aux output — audio out only works through Chromecast group casting to other speakers, a feature the original Home Mini had that was removed
- Requires a stable Wi-Fi connection and Google account; most features stop working if either goes down
- Google's smart speaker line has seen less frequent hardware refreshes than Amazon's Echo lineup, so software features are the main source of ongoing improvement
This review is based on Google's published specifications for the Nest Mini (2nd generation) and the consistent patterns across independent smart speaker reviews and owner feedback since its release, comparing it to both the original Home Mini and pricier Google smart speakers.
A real audio upgrade over the original Home Mini
The larger 40mm driver and tuning improvements are genuinely audible compared to the first-generation Home Mini, giving voice responses and casual music playback a fuller sound without distorting at moderate volumes. It's still a small single speaker, not a device to choose over a dedicated Bluetooth speaker for serious listening.
Wall-mounting and the missing aux jack
A built-in wall-mount hook slot gives real placement flexibility that many competing smart speakers lack. The trade-off from the original Home Mini is the removed headphone/aux jack — audio output now only happens through Chromecast casting to other speakers, which works well within a Google ecosystem but limits options if you wanted a simple wired connection.
Who it's for
Best for anyone building a Google Assistant-based smart home who wants cheap, hands-free voice control in a bedroom, office, or kitchen. Skip it if you want a speaker that can also fill a room with music — pair it with other speakers via Chromecast group audio instead, or look at a larger Google smart speaker.
Frequently asked
- Is the Nest Mini good for playing music?
- It's fine for background listening and voice responses in a small room, but the single small driver isn't a substitute for a real Bluetooth speaker if music quality matters to you.
- Does it have a headphone or aux jack?
- No — unlike the original Home Mini, the Nest Mini removed the aux output; audio can only be routed to other speakers through Chromecast group casting.
- Can I mute the microphone?
- Yes, there's a physical switch on the side that disables the microphones at a hardware level, separate from any software-based privacy settings.
- Is the Google Nest Mini (2nd Gen) worth buying?
- Yes, as a cheap, capable entry point into Google Assistant voice control and smart home commands. It's not worth buying if you're expecting real music-speaker sound quality — for that, look at a larger Google or third-party speaker.
You might also like
Smart Home & Wearables
Govee RGBIC Smart LED Strip Lights
Govee · Ages 13+ years
- RGBIC technology lets different segments of the same strip show different colors simultaneously, unlike basic single-color LED strips
- Music-sync mode reacts to ambient sound in real time, a genuinely popular feature for gaming setups and casual parties
- Adhesive backing is widely reported to lose its grip over time, especially in warm rooms or on textured walls, often requiring extra mounting clips or tape
Smart Home & Wearables
Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd Generation)
Amazon · Ages 13+ years
- 8-inch, 1280x800 display is the sweet spot between the small Echo Show 5 and the bulky Echo Show 10/15 for most kitchen or living room placements
- Spatial audio with room-adaption technology genuinely improves sound quality over the previous generation, adjusting to your room's acoustics
- At $149.99, it's $20 more than the 2nd-gen model's launch price, and Amazon's smart displays lean heavily on promoting Amazon Prime and Alexa+ features
Smart Home & Wearables
Roborock Q5+
Roborock · Ages 13+ years
- 2700Pa max suction across four modes (Quiet, Balanced, Turbo, Max) handles carpet and pet hair well for the price tier
- Self-emptying base with a 2.5-liter bag holds roughly five times the 470ml onboard dustbin capacity, meaning weeks between manual bag changes
- If the dustbin fills mid-clean, it won't automatically return to empty and resume — you have to manually press Home and restart the job, which undercuts the 'self-emptying' promise
Buy from Amazon