There’s a great Black Friday deal on the Google Home Mini right now, with the top-rated smart speaker discounted down to £19. Should you buy it, though? The short answer is “yes”. The longer answer is “yeeeesssssss”. Here’s why.
Why would I want a Google Home Mini anyway?
The Google Home Mini is one of the easiest ways to get into smart home technology. It’s a tiny smart speaker that gives you all the power of its bigger sibling, the Google Home, but it’s much smaller, cuter and cheaper. It runs Google Assistant, the same digital assistant you may have in your smartphone: Just say “OK Google” and tell it what you’d like it to do.
And it can do a lot. You can get it to answer questions, play music, tell you the weather forecast or the traffic conditions, wake you up, time your cooking, tune into your favourite radio station, control smart bulbs from the likes of Philips Hue and much more. When it was £50, the Guardian said it was “brilliant”. At £19, it’s even more brilliant.
What are the alternatives to the Google Home Mini?
The closest rival is Amazon’s Echo dot, which does much the same thing but with stronger links to Amazon’s various services. The price of that one goes up and down like a kangaroo in a lift; in the run-up to Black Friday, Amazon cut its price to £22. If you’d rather go with Apple, there isn’t a similarly cheap option: its HomePod is nearly £300.
Is the Google Home Mini speaker’s sound quality any good?
It’s not going to have you hurling your existing, expensive hi-fi into the bin but it’s crisp and clear and you can usually hear it over the washing machine or cooker hood. It’s not very bassy but you can connect it to a Google Cast-enabled speaker over Wi-Fi later on if you wish. Unlike Amazon’s option there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack to connect another speaker.
What about my privacy? Will the Google Home Mini listen to everything I do?
Google says no. You can go into myactivity.google.com any time and delete details of any activity.
Who should buy the Google Home Mini?
If you haven’t already dipped your toe into smart home tech, this is a brilliant way to do it. It’s really easy to set up – just connect it to your Wi-Fi via the Google app on your phone or tablet – and it’s really handy to have.
Black Friday sales around the web
- Amazon.co.uk – massive savings every day
- Argos.co.uk – cheap Lego, toys, phones and more
- AO.com – huge sale on electrical appliances
- Bose.co.uk – save up to 45%
- Currys.co.uk – Black Tag sale is live now
- Dell.co.uk – big savings on laptops and desktop PCs
- eBay.co.uk – knock-down prices and voucher codes
- Very.co.uk – deals on electricals, fashion and home
- Lovehoney.co.uk – up to 50% off sex toys and lingerie
- Goldsmiths.co.uk Black Friday sale – up to 50% off watches and jewellery
- Ernest Jones – £200 off when you spend £1,000
- John Lewis Black Friday sale – mega savings plus the John Lewis guarantee
- Le Creuset Black Friday sale – premium cookware gets tasty discounts
- Nike Black Friday sale – new sneakers at sneaky low prices
- ASOS – up to 70% off everything
- Schuh Black Friday sale – save big on shoes, boots and trainers
- The White Company White Weekend Sale – quality bedding at reduced prices
- Simba – up to 40% off mattresses and sleep bundles
- Amazon.com Black Friday Deals – new deals every day for a week
- Walmart.com Black Friday sale – cheap 4K TVs, games consoles and more
- eBay.com Black Friday sale– bargain prices and voucher codes
- Dell.com Black Friday sale – cut-price notebooks, monitors and more
- Target.com Black Friday sale – save on clothing, appliances and furniture
- Nordstrom.com Black Friday sale – refresh your winter wardrobe for not much money
- Lovehoney.com US Black Friday sale – up to 50% off sex toys and lingerie
