After a long wait, Google has finally launched their smart speakers– Google Home and Google Home Mini, priced at Rs 9,999 and Rs 4,499 respectively – in India on Tuesday, 10th April 2018, at an event in New Delhi. The smart speakers will be available via Flipkart, and retail stores including Croma, Reliance Digital and Vijay Sales.
Currently, Amazon is the leaders in India’s smart speakers market since the launch of their Echo series last October. Google’s arrival seems to be happening at the right time, as the need and sale of smart speakers are slowly growing and is taking root.
After its launch on Tuesday, the Google Home and Home Mini have become direct contenders to Amazon’s Echo Plus, Echo and Echo Dot priced at Rs 14,999, Rs 9,999 and Rs 4,499 respectively. Google Home will compete with Echo Plus and Echo Dot; meanwhile Home Mini will be competing with Echo Dot. Google Home and Home Mini offer some very interesting features and functionality. They support working with a varierty of services like Google Play Music, Gaana, Saavn, Netflix, YouTube, Google Chromecast to name a few. They also work seamlessly with home automation solution like Philips Hue lighting and TP-Link series of home automation products.
Google Home Specifications
Google Home features a touchpad on the top, which can be used to control volume, playback and also to activate Google Assistant. There are also lights on the top panel, that change colours and patterns depending on the action being performed. Its mic is also located on the top, which offers far-field voice recognition technology and identifies different voices with Voice Match technology. The power status light and mic-mute button are located at the back. The product sports a high excursion speaker with dual 2-inch passive radiators and a 2-inch driver.
The device is only available with a white body, but the speaker material comes in different colours (Slate fabric is default). Devices running on Android 4.4 KitKat and higher, and iOS 9.1 and higher are compatible with the speaker. It can only be used as a WiFi-connected speaker with no Bluetooth capabilities. It is powered by a wall socket and comes with an AC power adapter.
In terms of audio formats, Google Home supports MP3, WAV, FLAC, HE-AAC, LC-ACC+ and Vorbis. It also supports Chromecast and works on smartphones from over 150 brands.
Its height is 142.8mm, with a diameter of 96.4mm. It weighs 477 grams, and its power cable measures 1.8 meters.
Google Home Mini Specifications
The Google Home Mini comes with four lights on top, which show that the speaker is working, and turn orange when the mic is muted. The volume, alarm, timer and calls controls are located on the left and right side of the lights. It has a non-skid silicone base and is available in fabric-based designs. The mic supports far-field voice recognition. This product is believed to be 360-degree sound and bears a 40mm driver. It runs on devices with Android 4.4 KitKat and higher, and iOS 9.1 and higher.
It can be used as a WiFi-connected and Bluetooth-connected speaker. It also needs to powered by a wall socket and comes with an AC power adaptor.
In terms of audio formats, Google Home supports MP3, FLAC, LC-ACC+, HE-AAC, WAV and Vorbis. It supports Chromecast and works on smartphones from over 150 brands.
Its height is measured at 43mm, with a diameter of 98mm, and it weighs 173 grams. Its power cable measures 1.5 metres.
The launch also comes with exciting offers, like if you buy Google Home or Google Home Mini on Flipkart, you get a free JioFi router along with special offers on exchange and streaming music subscriptions.
So if you are excited about Google Home or Google Home Mini, then go to Flipkart or any of its retail outlets, and experience some nice groovy music.
