All about Google Home Mini

While AI or Artificial Intelligence is reportedly booming, it is fair to say that the tech is still young and there are plenty of people out there who don’t know what it’s all about it.You might have heard someone mentioning Google Home, or seen an ad for it, and be wondering about it. Here are the details we would like you read more about it.

What is Artificial Intelligence or AI?

• Artificial intelligence is intelligence demonstrated by machines, in contrast to the natural intelligence displayed by humans and other animals.

What Is Google Home?

Google Home is really many things, but first and foremost it’s a series of speakers. There are, at present, three models in the range:

• Google Home
• Google Home Mini

First of all though, it’s important to understand that Google Home speakers are not just speakers; they’re SMART Speakers.

What do I mean by this? Well the other thing that Google Home “is” – as well as being a set of hardware – is a software ecosystem driven by artificial intelligence (AI) which is plugged right into the internet, and which leverages Google’s vast library of search data to make use of said worldwide web.

What Can Google Home Do?

Think of it being a bit like the Google search on your web browser – you can type anything into that and it’ll bring up a boat-load of relevant information. The difference is Google Home is voice activated and will speak back the information to you.

As well as being connected to the web and offering search functionality, Google Home is also integrated with Google’s suite of applications and services; that means your calendar, Gmail, Chromecast, Google Play Music and so on.  On top of this it plugs in to other third-party applications – such as Spotify, for example – so you’re not just restricted to streaming music through Google’s own platform.

Essentially, it is Google search and a handful of Google services on tap. Ask Google Home anything and it will provide you with an answer of sorts.But where Google Home really comes into its own is in the way it interacts with other things around your home. Things like Chromecast, for instance, whereby you can simply tell it to start playing something in Netflix on your HDTV. It works seamlessly 100% of the time.

It also works with Saavn, Netflix, and TOI. You can even tell Google Home to skip forwards and backwards and it will do it. On top of this, Google Home will also interact with things like NEST, Philips Hue smart lightbulbs, and many other connected home appliances and accessories, so you can, quite literally, talk to your home, providing you have the requisite products.

Google is adding new features all the time too, so Home is constantly evolving. And best of all it does all of this evolving without you having to ever do anything – all updates happen automatically without you needing to do a thing.

In addition, Google has now unlocked another feature for all users; location based reminders. You can now ask Google Assistant via the Google Home devices to prompt you with a reminder at certain locations that are recognised by your Google account – say it picks up that you’re in the supermarket via your phone’s geolocation, you can ask it to remind you to buy toilet paper, or whatever.