Google Nest Mini vs. Amazon Echo Dot

Google and Amazon are evenly matched competitors in the smart speaker arena, with both boasting a slew of feature upgrades, device integrations, and a solid hardware lineup for any budget. The Nest Mini, currently in its second generation, is a great companion device that can also act as an independent assistant, with the same Google Assistant controls that larger Nest devices leverage.

Meanwhile, Amazon and Alexa have been tied together for quite some time, building up a large portfolio of smart speakers, displays, and other gadgets. Now on its fourth generation, the Echo Dot has been wowing Alexa fans for years, and the latest model adds a couple of variants to give consumers more choice. And best of all, it received a substantial design change for this beloved speaker.

So, which is right for you — the Google Nest Mini or Amazon Echo Dot? Here, we’ve pitted the two devices against one another to find out which is the better offering.

Specifications

While you could be forgiven for thinking that Google Nest Mini and Amazon Echo Dot are similarly priced devices offering similar specifications, a dig into the spec sheets reveals some important differences.

The fourth-generation Echo Dot has a 1.6-inch speaker, and you can connect the Echo Dot to a larger speaker if you want. With advanced Bluetooth audio support, voice control, and a 3.5mm audio jack, the Echo Dot is a low-cost Alexa controller.

In contrast, the Google Nest Mini has three far-field microphones for voice detection, as well as a 1.57-inch speaker driver. There’s Bluetooth support, but the device lacks an audio port. Integrated Chromecast and enhanced audio format support demonstrate Google’s belief that the Nest Mini can serve as a competent, if compact, stand-alone speaker, alongside other duties. But the Echo Dot (4th Gen) still has the Nest Mini beat.

Winner: Amazon Echo Dot

Design

When it comes to aesthetics, the two smart speakers differ in size, but are both covered with fabric and use LED lights to visually communicate. Set next to one another, it’s apparent that the new spherical shape of the Echo Dot (4th Gen) makes it look larger than the Nest Mini — nearly double its height. Despite this, it’s a refreshing design change that we appreciate.

The Echo Dot and the Dot with Clock both retain the iconic color-changing LED status ring around their base. It adds a bit of interest, but also makes the Echo Dot more noticeable with its dazzling and mesmerizing glow whenever it’s accessed. The Echo Dot with Clock can serve as a good bedside companion, given its auto-adjust display and display of the time.

The Nest Mini may not have a clock option, but it still uses LED dots to communicate, and it’s available in chalk, charcoal, coral, and sky. Again, the build quality is excellent, and the Nest Mini’s pincushion form gives the device its own identity. Google’s recent design upgrade made the nest Mini more eco-friendly too. But, what sets it apart is the notch on its underside, which allows you to hang it on a wall.

Google’s designers have even spent time crafting Nest Mini’s circular power adapter, which fits neatly in the hand and protrudes from the wall far less than the Echo Dot’s power supply. There are even clips on the power cable to tidy up any slack. These are small touches, yes, but they demonstrate a level of design detail and care that’s the hallmark of a great device.

Winner: Amazon Echo Dot

Connectivity

Amazon’s Echo Dot has been around much longer than Google’s Nest Mini, which has given Amazon time to build out a relatively strong ecosystem. Alexa gains more and more features like whisper mode, doorbell concierge, and Blueprints that let you make (and even publish) your own Alexa skills — and Alexa seems to learn new stuff almost every day. Alexa’s reminders and routines are getting more advanced too, allowing users to set location-based reminders and create advanced routines (you can have Alexa turn off your lights, wait 15 minutes, and then turn off the TV, for instance). You can also announce messages through all of your Echo Dots throughout your home.

Both devices can connect to and control a variety of smart home stalwarts like Philips Hue lighting, power outlets, smart locks, and more. Google is working with partners to rapidly build out hardware integrations, but still lags Amazon, whose Alexa can control more than 85,000 smart home devices.

In 2019, Google revamped its Nest brand with a new focus on privacy — some compatibility partnerships ended, some continued, and some were stuck in development limbo for the foreseeable future. This has slowly worked itself out over time, but Nest compatibility is simply more limited, and you’ll need to study each smart device carefully to make sure it’s compatible with the Nest Mini.

Winner: Amazon Echo Dot

Features

Alongside hardware connectivity, both devices can also access “skills” or “actions” that deliver enhanced features like news reports, recipes, reservation bookings, jokes, quizzes, and more. Again, the Echo Dot leads here, with a plethora of different types of skills available for the device (some of which you may actually wish to use). Google’s offering is certainly smaller at this point but is expanding quickly, adding features like a multilingual mode, a translator mode, and step-by-step cooking instructions.

Before jumping in with Amazon Echo or Google Nest, be sure to review the streaming entertainment services you currently use. As per usual, Amazon very much sees Echo as a gateway to service subscriptions and heavily promotes Amazon Music over other options. However, Amazon has begun to support more services on Alexa like Spotify Premium, Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn Radio, and even Apple Music.

With Google Nest Mini, there are fewer compatible music services sources, but you can use Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, Deezer, and Google Play Music, among other options. Both brands continue to add services.

Winner: Amazon Echo Dot

Ease of use

One thing you should know before purchasing either smart speaker is that both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant undergo perpetual changes. This means both devices are regularly enhanced with new features, but you may also find that commands that worked previously no longer work or might require a slightly nuanced voice instruction. Or, they might seemingly work for everyone else except for you. It can be a real frustration with both Amazon and Google services.

Both devices work well at picking up voice commands as long as you enunciate, even when you’re blaring out tunes at full volume. The Echo Dot’s design, with an overt LED status ring and physical buttons for volume, mic muting, and triggering Alexa on the top of the device, gives Amazon a slight edge in terms of usability. Google Nest Mini supports microphone muting via a rear switch and features touch-sensitive volume controls on either side of the device, all of which work well.

Winner: Amazon Echo Dot

Audio output

The fourth-generation Echo Dot has a larger driver and the sound is much better than ever before. The Nest Mini has 360-degree sound, a 40mm driver, and proprietary audio tuning software. But how do they stack up?

Google Nest Mini delivers clean audio with punchy bass. You can use the equalizer to adjust the treble and bass. sure, it’s a step up from your phone’s speakers, but not a match for a decent, dedicated Bluetooth speaker. For the Nest Mini, Google Nest doubled the bass and made it possible for the speaker to adjust its volume based on the level of background noise in the room. Although the Nest Mini only has three mics, it does a superior job at picking up voice commands, even from a distance.

The 4th Gen Dot sounds significantly louder than the Nest Mini. The Dot also offers perks like a 3.5mm jack. But the Echo Dot’s microphones simply aren’t as sensitive to voice commands. All in all, the Nest Mini wins for voice recognition, and the Echo Dot wins for music playback.

Winner: Tie (Nest Mini has better voice recognition, Echo Dot plays music louder)

Smart home routines

Smart home routines connect a variety of settings for smart devices under a single command. It’s a great way to prepare a smart house for the morning, set the mood for an evening dinner, get the family ready for bed, and a lot more…all you have to do is set them up.

Google Assistant and Alexa both offer routine setup, so that’s no problem. Google’s version is a bit more cookie-cutter, helpful prompts make it easy for beginners. Yet, Google Assistant also offers more complex custom Routine options.

Alexa’s version is a bit more complex, but once you get the hang of it you can easily set up detailed routines based on exactly what you want to do. Alexa also still beats Google Assistant when it comes to compatibility, so there’s a greater chance of your smart devices actually working with the Dot.

Winner: Echo Dot

Shopping capabilities

Both the Echo Dot line and the Nest Mini line allow you to use their respective assistants to set up voice shopping capabilities. However, they approach this in significantly different ways.

Alexa, via the Dot, can help you shop and add items to your shopping list. It can also make recommendations based on your questions, and help you re-order, using information from your Amazon account. However, your shopping is limited to Amazon properties. That’s not a huge downside, because Amazon has a little of everything, and you can even order fresh produce through stores like Whole Foods. However, you won’t be able to compare products beyond Amazon.

Google Assistant, meanwhile, uses the Google Shopping platform, so it has a wider reach. However, finding specific products or getting the results you want may be more challenging, especially without an accompanying smart display. You can also reorder an item, but Google can’t give the same recommendations as Alexa can.

Both shopping options can shop by recognized voice, but Alexa provides an additional security code option you can enable for safety.

Winner: Echo Dot — If you don’t mind buying only from Amazon. Otherwise, the Mini.

Which should you buy?

If you’re already invested in a smart assistant ecosystem, neither Amazon Echo Dot nor Google Nest Mini delivers compelling reasons to switch to the other side.

Amazon should be celebrated for creating this compact, smart controller category with the original Amazon Echo Dot, which delivers much of the magic of its big brothers, but at a fraction of the price. It’s clear that Google’s Nest Mini engineers and designers have spent time understanding and then building on the Echo Dot’s foundations. It looks better, and while it lacks the Echo Dot’s wealth of integrations, Google is catching up quickly.

Google Nest Mini

If you are a loyal Amazon customer, you’ll probably want an Echo Dot, so it agrees with your existing devices (like Fire TV), and likewise for the Nest Mini. However, if you don’t have Amazon or Google products, the decision becomes more difficult, but we suggest starting with the Echo Dot as an easy way to see how you like these smart devices. On top of that, the clock version of the Echo Dot (4th Gen) adds the usefulness of telling time instantly — while its superior audio performance makes it far more tolerable with music playback.

Amazon Echo Dot

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