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The best smart speakers of 2020 are hard-working devices that give you access to your favorite music and smart voice assistants, and let you control your smart home devices with just your voice.
Amazon’s Echo line of speakers and Google’s Nest (née Home) dominate the smart home market, and the companies’ smallest wireless speakers are among the most popular.
Now in its third generation, the Amazon Echo Dot first launched in 2016, and since then, it has seen multiple updates that have secured it its place as the company’s best-selling speaker of all time.
Its biggest competitor is the Google Nest Mini, which launched in 2019 as the successor to the tech giant’s hugely successful Home Mini speaker.
The Amazon Echo Dot (3rd gen) and Google Nest Mini are great options if you want smart home connectivity at a low price, without most of the larger models like the Echo Studio and Google Home Hub.
Due to their small builds, neither speaker offers outstanding audio performance and they are better suited as desk companions than your only wireless speaker that plays music. Even so, the Echo Dot and Nest Mini have access to all the music streaming services you could want if you feel like playing some tunes.
Perhaps the biggest draw of the Amazon Echo Dot (3rd generation) and Google Nest Mini is their low prices; At launch, both speakers are $ 49.99 / £ 49.99 / AU $ 79, and that price is often discounted by around $ 30 / £ 30 / AU $ 50.
Those discounts are expected to get even better in the coming months, with Amazon Prime Day expected to drop in October following coronavirus-related delays, and then Black Friday 2020 in late November.
Amazon Prime Day will be a particularly good time to buy the Echo Dot; Amazon is known for offering its own products deep discounts during their annual sale, so it’s worth waiting until then if you decide that the Amazon speaker is the best model for you.
Not sure which speaker is the best for you? With similar pricing and builds, it’s understandable if you’re having trouble making up your mind; That’s why we compared Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) and Google Nest Mini, so you can make an informed purchasing decision.
What’s so great about the Amazon Echo Dot?
Easy setup
Setting up the Amazon Echo Dot is really simple, especially if you already have one or more Alexa speakers installed in your home. If that’s you, all you need to do is head over to the Amazon Alexa app and tap on the plus icon in the Devices section; The app will do a quick scan for nearby devices and before you know it you’ll be up and running with your new smart speaker.
If you don’t have Alexa or an Echo device already installed, you will have to go through the process of downloading the app and logging into your Amazon account, but then it’s pretty much the same process as above.
Smart Alexa
Buying an Echo Dot means shopping in the Amazon Alexa ecosystem, and that means you can control any Alexa-compatible smart home device with just your voice, as well as taking advantage of Alexa’s growing library of skills.
Alexa skills are like special tricks that your smart speaker can perform for you, from turning on your smart lights in your home to ordering pizza, and these skills are constantly being updated and improved. Most of the skills need to be downloaded, just like the apps, and they allow you to perform tasks, tricks, or commands by asking Alexa to perform them. For example, for Alexa to turn on the Philips Hue lights, you will need the Philips Hue Skill.
As Amazon allows third-party developers to create their own skills, the Echo Dot gives you access to more niche commands (like ordering a pizza at your favorite restaurant or playing an interactive board game), as well as integration with your own services and products. . , including the Amazon Fire TV Stick.
Great call quality
The Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) can be used to make calls to other Echo mobile phones and speakers, and the call quality is almost as good, if not better, than using the speaker settings on your phone.
That’s thanks to Dot’s microphone array and noise reduction algorithm, which work together to ensure your voice sounds crystal clear.
When it comes to music playback, the audio quality offered by the third-gen Dot is much better than its predecessors, although you’ll probably want to use a larger speaker as your primary listening device. Fortunately, Echo devices support multi-room audio, so you can stream music simultaneously through multiple different speakers and boost sound output that way.
- Looking for something a little different? Take a look at the Amazon Echo Dot with Clock, which comes complete with a clock built into its fabric grille.
What’s good about the Google Nest Mini?
Bluetooth connectivity
Unlike the Amazon Echo Dot (3rd gen), the Google Nest Mini has support for Bluetooth connectivity, and that means you can easily connect it to a smartphone to stream music and let your friends DJ without setting up a Google. Start account.
The Google Nest Mini also beats the Echo Dot in terms of audio quality, thanks to its surprisingly high volume and good mid-range performance, making it ideal for listening to podcasts in particular.
However, the bass is a bit anemic and the treble can sound a bit harsh at higher volumes. Still, the Nest Mini offers much better sound than its predecessor, the Google Home Mini, but retains its multi-room audio intelligence.
Google Assistant
Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant are pretty evenly matched in terms of smart home connectivity, but the latter benefits from having the world’s largest search engine at your fingertips (virtual), and that means it’s really expert in answering your questions and conducting web activities. based searches.
It is also seamlessly integrated into Google’s larger ecosystem, so you can access your calendar to make appointments and set reminders and timers, as well as connect to Chromecast-compatible TVs and streaming devices.
Like the Amazon Echo Dot, the Google Nest Mini can control your smart home devices, acting as a single voice-activated hub for your smart light bulbs, smart thermostats, and even your outdoor security camera.
Cute design
While the Amazon Echo Dot looks pretty stylish, the Google Nest Mini offers more color variants and a sleeker overall design.
Featuring chalk, charcoal, coral and sky (light blue), the fabric mesh cover means the Nest Mini can blend in seamlessly into your home or provide a much-needed pop of color, depending on your taste.
The Google Nest Mini is also wall mountable, allowing it to become an attractive focal point in your home.
Verdict
If you’re looking for a cheap little smart speaker that gives you control over your smart home devices, the Amazon Echo Dot (3rd gen) and Google Nest Mini are great options.
These speakers are so evenly matched in terms of hardware and voice assistant capabilities that the most important decision you have to make is between the two smart ecosystems.
If you’re already stuck in the Alexa ecosystem with devices like the Amazon Fire TV Stick and Echo Studio, you’ll want to go for the Echo Dot, and if you’re a Google Assistant fan and already own a Google Chromecast dongle streaming or smart displays like Google Nest Hub Max, Google Nest Mini is the best choice for you.
Starting your smart home from scratch? There are some areas where one speaker wins over the other.
In the case of the Amazon Echo Dot, its fantastic call quality makes it more suitable for those who want to use its speaker for hands-free voice calls.
However, it’s the Google Nest that almost beats the Echo Dot in terms of overall audio quality, and the availability of a different color gamut, as well as the ability to wall-mount the little smart speaker, gives you more flexibility. when it comes to design. .
Neither speaker comes with a 3.5mm audio port, but both can be connected to other speakers in their respective ecosystems to create multi-room audio setups; just don’t trust any of them as your primary source for music playback, or you’ll probably be disappointed.
Another important aspect to consider is the price; yes, both speakers were the same price at launch, but the Echo Dot is likely to get the biggest discounts on Amazon Prime Day, which means it may be the best option for budget-conscious buyers.
