The first batch of Google Home Mini hardware distributed at assorted release events had a serious flaw that caused the device to listen in on every noise generated in a house — and has since been pinned down as a hardware problem with a key feature now temporarily disabled after a firmware update.
In addition to its budget-priced $49 Google Home Mini, the search giant also introduced a push to the premium end of the speaker market, unveiling the $399 Google Home Max with speakers 20 times more powerful than the regular Home.
Google on Wednesday unveiled a smaller, more affordable version of its Home speaker and assistant, dubbed the Google Home Mini, set to launch in stores on Oct. 19 for $49.
Thought it pulled a product page within a matter of minutes, Walmart on Tuesday briefly offered preorders for the Home Mini, a new smartspeaker expected to be officially revealed in a Wednesday Google announcement.
Roughly a third of people in the U.S. are interested in Apple's Siri-based HomePod, though they're more likely to buy an Amazon Echo in practice, survey results suggested on Wednesday.
Google has revealed a number of updates it will be rolling out to the Google Home connected speaker, with major additions including the device's ability to put responses to queries on a nearby display, such as the user's iPhone, as well as being able to place phone calls from the device itself.
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Mike Wuerthele
Neil Hughes
Roger Fingas
Malcolm Owen
