Google is all set to launch its smart speakers, the Google Home and Home Mini, in India. Now, just ahead of launch, the speakers have been listed on Flipkart and it also confirms that the speakers will be launching on April 10.
The listing reveal the tagline ‘Intelligence meets comfort’ and the hashtag #MakeGoogleDoIt. The upcoming speakers will surely give a stiff competition to Amazon Echo lineup including Echo Dot, Echo and Echo Plus speakers that have recently begun selling in the country. The listing also reveals that users can play music, cast video, control smart home. Stay updated with news and ask questions.
Previously, the smart speakers were reported to come with Google Assistant, which recently got the support of the Hindi language. This would be interesting to see whether the smart speakers will be able to communicate in Hindi as there is no functionality available with Amazon Alexa. Further, multiple reports suggest that media accounts on Google Assistant already support some local music streaming services like Saavn and Gaana. According to a report by True Tech, the Assistant can be commanded to play any particular song, artist, album, genre, etc., along with the stations and playlists curated by Saavn.
To recall, Google introduced the Home speaker in 2016, while the Home Mini was introduced in October last year. Google Home is essentially a 6-inch x 4-inch speaker which is always listening to your voice. Apart from playing music from your smartphone or from any other device, Google can perform a bunch of other functions. The speakers have a 2-inch driver and dual 2-inch passive radiators on the sides. On top, there is a capacitive touch panel for controls and four LED’s which shows Google’s colourful language.
The touch panel can be used to adjust volume, pause or play audio, can take calls etc. It also sports two microphones on top which are always on unless you press the mute button on the side which disables the mics.
Coming to Google Home Mini, the smart speaker comes with fabric that is durable, yet transparent enough to let through both light and sound. There is an LED under the fabric, which notifies a user when the Google Assistant is hearing. The smart speaker comes with a compact design and delivers a 360-degree sound. The device comes in three colour options including Chalk, Charcoal, and Coral and it can be connected to other Google Home devices.