Jazz up your home with this latest smart speaker

Google has added the Nest suffix in a rebranding exercise. The new Google Nest Mini might look very similar to its predecessor (the Google Home Mini) but the similarity ends with the appearance.

We’ve been fans of Google’s design aesthetic with their trademark fabric finish. Whether it’s the smart speakers or smart displays like the Google Nest Hub, Google’s smart devices blend into your home. Recycling has been one of Google’s major 2019 initiatives, the entire fabric on the Nest Mini is crafted with 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. The corresponding figure for the external enclosure is 35%. The speaker has physical navigation buttons for volume or play/pause that are very responsive. If you’re a music buff and sound quality matters to you, the Nest Mini won’t disappoint. It produces great sound for a device of its size and automatically adjusts the sound level to match ambient sounds. You can stream music from a host of music streaming platforms like Spotify; the set up process via the Google Home app is quite effortless too.

During our tests we found that the in-built microphone (you can turn off this microphone with a simple flick of a switch) picked up voice commands even in slightly noisy environments. The Nest Mini handles most queries like trivia or weather and news updates without a fuss. If you’re looking at a future-proof device that can start talking to multiple connected devices, you’re sorted. Google tells us that there’s a long list of connected devices (about 3,500) from a variety of brands like Philips Hue and Xiaomi that can hook up with your Google Nest Mini. That’s one more reason to consider setting up a smart home. (Rs 4,499)

Realme X2 Pro: This might be the flagship in the Realme portfolio but the brand is making a serious play in the flagship killer battle as one of the most fully loaded smartphones under Rs 30,000. The display is one of the talking points that strengthens this claim. It’s a vibrant a 6.5-inch (2400 x 1080 pixels) Super AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate, a first for this price segment.

The camera package is quite formidable too. The rear cam combines four lenses, including a 64MP primary lens and an 8MP ultra-wide lens, in addition to the 16MP selfie cam. This is one of the most versatile shooters in this price segment. If you’re a serious gamer, the X2 Pro won’t let you down. At its heart is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Processor with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of Internal Memory. 

The battery (4000 mAh) backs up all that firepower, it’s also bolstered by Super VOOC charging that powers your battery from 0 to 100% in 35 minutes flat. (Rs 29,999)