Google announces new Google Home Mini and Google Home Max speakers

Many leaks have already explained everything, but on Wednesday Google announced it officially: the company’s Google Home smart speaker is getting two new siblings. Google Home Mini is the company’s new entry-level voice assistant device, and Google Home Max offers the same functionality with a greater emphasis on audio.

The Google Home Mini will be available in three colors – coral, chalk and charcoal – for a retail price of $49. They can be pre-ordered from Wednesday and will be available in stores on October 19. The device comes with 4 LED lights for visual feedback, and users can tap the fabric top to pause music, similar to the original Google Home.

Google Home Max comes with an Aux input for connecting stereo equipment and intelligent sound optimization to reflect the unique characteristics of each room. Consumers will be able to pair two Google Home Max speakers for stereo sound and position them vertically or horizontally – features reminiscent of higher-end Sonos speakers.

The device will be available in two colors and will hit stores in December for $399. Consumers will receive 12 months of YouTube Red for free.

In conjunction with the new hardware, Google is also introducing a number of new features to the Google Home family of devices. Google Home and Google Home Mini will now be able to find your phone. Android phones will automatically sound the alarm even if they are on silent, and iPhones will receive a call from Google.

Google is also expanding the hands-free calling feature on Google Home. The ability to use Google Home devices as a hands-free kit is coming to the UK later this week, and users will be able to link their Google Home devices to a mobile phone number to identify the caller.

Google is also integrating Google Home more closely with Nest products. For example, consumers can connect their Nest doorbell to Google Home to automatically receive notifications when someone is at the door, and users can define custom routines to connect multiple actions and control temperature, lighting, and other smart home devices with a single voice command .

Consumers will also broadcast messages to all Google Home devices in the home. “Parents will love this feature,” said Rishi Chandra, leader of Google Home. “Kids will hate this feature.” Speaking of kids: Google has also partnered with Disney and other gaming studios and companies to bring games and voice features to these devices.