Google Home Mini 2: What we want to see

Right now, the Google Home Mini is the cheapest way to buy into Google’s smart home ecosystem while still having full use of its pioneering Assistant at under $50 (£49 / AU$79), and its enjoyed largely positive reviews - except for the sound quality, which seems to have suffered as a result of the smart speakers small stature. 

Although it’s unclear whether the Google Pixel event on October 9 will see the launch of a new Google Home Mini, there are a few things we would like to see in the Google Home Mini 2 should we be lucky enough to get a new model tomorrow:

More powerful sound performance

The main issue we found with the original Google Home Mini is that the sound was less than powerful, which meant it wasn’t particularly suitable as a standalone speaker, and was more suited to being a desk buddy. 

Google could rectify this by adding some separate tweeters to add clarity to the treble frequencies, making the overall sound a little crisper, plus enabling a fuller, 360 degree soundstage, which we will look at in more detail next.

Better bass

The Google Home Mini performs fairly well in terms of treble frequencies, with vocals and hi-hats coming through with clarity and sparkle - however, this is to the detriment of the rest of the sound from the gadget. 

Although we don’t expect the bass to be super thumpy given the form factor, we would like to see a little more force in the mid-low frequencies in the Google Home Mini 2. 

True 360-degree soundstage

Despite being pitched as having a 360 degree soundstage, we found that the Google Mini fell flat in this regard - once again, if at least two seperate tweeters were added to the speaker, the sound would feel far fuller, much like it’s big brother, the Google Home Max.

This is because treble frequencies usually come across as more directional than low-mid frequencies, giving the impression of stereo sound.

Portability

Given the Google Home Mini’s small size, the lack of portability seems to be quite the oversight from Google, as the Mini has to be plugged in to work. 

Right now, the Mini is unable to hold a charge, although some companies have developed battery stands that enable you to take the smart speaker out and about - we’d love to see the Google Home Mini 2 either with an internal battery, or for Google to bring out their own battery stand.

Easier Bluetooth pairing:

Although it is possible to pair the Google Home Mini with your smartphone or laptop via Bluetooth, we found that this feature wasn’t exactly built with user-friendliness in mind, as the feature is hidden rather well within the Google Home app. 

For any updated version of the Google Home Mini, we’d like to see Bluetooth pairing take more of a center stage within the app - after all, we imagine a lot of users still like scrolling through Spotify or Youtube manually to find their music as opposed to using the inbuilt Google Assistant. 

Google Home Mini 2 news and rumors:

So far we’ve not heard much in the way of rumors for the Google Home Mini 2, and while it initially looked like we were certain to get an update on the original Google Home Mini on October 9, it now seems as though an entirely new addition to the family is more likely, perhaps in the form of a Google Smart Display device. 

In an effort to beat the leakers, Google recently announced the Google Home Mini is now available in a brand new color: a fresh mint green shade. 

Whether this is a sign that we won’t be getting a new Google Home Mini at the Pixel 3 event remains to be seen, but we will be covering all the action on the day, so stick with TechRadar for updates.

• Google Home Mini review: smart speaker, small size