Since everyone already has a dozen…
The Google Home Mini hit store shelves in late 2017 as a smaller, more affordable alternative to the company’s original smart speaker. Unsurprisingly, it was a massive hit, and an upgraded “Nest Mini” was released just two years later to even more critical acclaim. Google has kept the Home Mini on the market in the years since, offering it at steep discounts and even for free with certain memberships or subscriptions. It seems like its time may have finally come, however, as it’s unavailable in several places online.
The Google Store now redirects anyone looking for a Home Mini to the Nest Mini, after showing it as unavailable yesterday (via 9to5Google). This likely discontinuation follows a month-long sale that kicked off ahead of Black Friday, offering both the Home Mini and its Nest successor for $25. Although Google has sold a second-gen model for two years now, it continued to sell this original speaker alongside it. That said, the Nest Mini was more than a worthy follow-up, offering a louder sound, improved bass, and stereo pairing.
Of course, we’d be remiss to speak about the Home Mini’s legacy without mentioning our own history with it. Android Police founder Artem Russakovskii — he of #ArtemsLuck — famously discovered his device accidentally recording every conversation and noise in his house. Google permanently disabled the top button feature initially built into the speaker following his report.
This gadget will likely be remembered for its giveaways, of course. Whether you’re a Google One, YouTube Premium, or Spotify subscriber, you probably have at least one or two of these things floating around your house. If you don’t, its successor is still 50 percent off ahead of the holidays, making it the perfect last-minute Christmas gift for the hard-to-shop-for person in your life. And hey, if you really need the first-gen model, it’s still available in some less-than-expected places like Home Depot.
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