What Can the Google Home Mini Do?

As one of the originals from Google‘s smart speaker lineup, the Google Home Mini is a small, but mighty smart speaker that is a solid contender in terms of what it can do for you around the house. And perhaps best of all, it comes equipped with Google Assistant. Here, we round up several things you probably didn’t know your Google Home Mini was capable of.

What is the Google Home Mini?

Google have brought their extensive technological expertise to the smart speaker scene, implementing their search technology in the virtual assistant to provide an even more reliable – and natural – experience.

The Home Mini from Google is a voice-controlled smart speaker that can be used to play music, set reminders, and even ask for recipe suggestions when you’re struggling for ideas for a romantic meal. Roughly the size of a doughnut, it has all the features of the Google Assistant and gives you hands-free help in any room of your house.

Recently, Google launched a second-generation version of its Google Home Mini, known as the Nest Mini. The Nest Mini features upgrades to the sound quality and improved voice recognition. However, that being said, the Google Home Mini is still a powerful little smart speaker, with an affordable price tag.

Google Home Mini smart speaker with built-in Google Assistant | Photo: Shutterstock

What can the Google Home Mini do?

From telling the kids a bedtime story to controlling your smart home devices, the Google Home Mini is a great gadget for those wanting to have hands-free control over their home and be part of Google’s ecosystem.

Here are 10 different things the Google Home Mini can do. Just say OK Google and it will respond.

1. Listen to your local news

With so much currently going on in the world, you may feel the need to want to keep up with major events and what’s going on within your immediate environment. Fortunately, Google Assistant has got your back!

When you say, “OK, Google, play me the news”, your News Update will start with a mix of short chosen news stories based on your interests, location, history and preferences. The Google Home Mini News Update is a great way to start the day and catch up on important events while you get ready in the morning.

2. Play a game

Having a boring day? Ask Google Assistant to play a game on your Google Home Mini! Google assistant has a large number of interactive games that you can play to keep you and the family entertained. From popular game shows to trivia questions, each game can be played alone or with a group. These games include Ding Dong Coconut, Math Logic, and Riddle Room, to name just a few. To start a game with your smart speaker, you can say “OK, Google, play a game.”

3. Relax and unwind

Stressful week at work? Or perhaps you’d like to unwind before bed? With your Google Home Mini, you can relax and unwind with a variety of soothing and ambient sounds. To help you switch off, the Google Assistant is packed with different ambient background sounds, varying from running water and ocean sounds, to thunderstorms and white noise.

This feature can also prove to be really beneficial if you are struggling to fall asleep. While all of these ambient sounds will continue to play for 12 hours if not turned off. To ask for these sounds, you can simply say, “OK, Google, help me relax”, or “Hey Google, play ambient noise”.

From witty comebacks to bedtime stories, your Google Home Mini is equipped with a library of tricks and features that can provide endless fun for your kids. Ask Google Assistant to read your kids a story, play a game, or even tell a knock-knock joke – whatever it is, they will be set up for hours of enjoyment.

Tell them to say “Hey Google, did you fart? or “Hey Google, clean my room”, and watch them rolling around in laughter at Googles quick-witted responses. Other kid-friendly features include setting an alarm for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or to even call Grandma. To ensure it’s completely safe and eliminates any concerns, parents can adjust restricted content controls and even set up a kids account using Family Link.

5. Speak your language

Do you live in a bilingual household? Well, the Google Home Mini is proficient in a number of different languages and it can even be set to recognise two different languages at one time. So if you add a second language to your Google Assistant, it can respond to either of the languages you’ve chosen. To add a second language, go to your Google Home app on your smartphone or tablet. There are a variety of languages your Home Mini will recognise including English, Italian, Swedish, and Japanese.

6. Check your flight status or plan a trip

Google Home Mini will make it easier to find the important travel information you need, from planning an upcoming family trip to checking the status of your next flight.

You can even ask the Google Assistant to help you with organising important details such as booking a hotel or finding things for the kids to do at your destination. To get information about existing flights, ask Google “Is my flight on time?” or if you need help booking a hotel, say, “Hey, Google, book me a room at The Ned Hotel in London”.

7. Plan your day

From setting up and managing routines, getting directions for your next commute, or checking your calendar, Google Home Mini can help to plan your day.

Google Assistant is your new virtual helper and can help to manage your busy schedule. Leaving you to worry about other things. It has the ability to execute many commands, including setting alarms, checking your shopping list, and calling work colleagues. Ask your smart speaker “Hey, Google, when is my next meeting?” Or “What’s the traffic like?”.

8. Get answers and information

If you have always wanted someone around the house to answer all of your questions, then that someone comes in the form of your Google Home Mini. Google Assistant – which is Google’s answer to Amazon’s Alexa, is designed to be placed in the home as a hands-free assistant. Part of that assistance is answering questions you may have. From finding results to your daily questions, like “What time is it now?” to calculating a maths sum or staying up-to-date with your favourite football team, Google Assistant is packed full of valuable information.

9. Control your smart home

The powerful assistant is capable of all sorts, from making phone calls to playing music. But perhaps one of the most important features of your Google Home Mini is that it has the ability to control your smart home, acting as a hub for your connected smart devices.

You can control more than 30,000 smart home devices from over 3,500 different brands, including TV’s, remote controls, lights, appliances, plugs, and more, using your Google Home Mini smart speaker. To get up and running, you will first need to set up your device in the Google Home app.

10. Find your missing phone

Always misplacing your phone around the house? Fortunately, Google Home can help you locate it. Whether your missing phone is under a pile of washing, behind the couch, or in your gym bag, the Google Home Mini is a valuable tool for tracking down your beloved devices. You can ask your Google Assistant to ring or call your phone, even if it’s on silent, as long as you’ve set a few things up beforehand.

Once you have set these steps up, all you need to do in order to find your missing phone is ask Google Assistant on your Home Mini to “Find my phone”. Never lose your phone again with Google!