Google's input speaker will apparently have a new name, better audio quality, a 3.5mm jack, and so on.

According to 9to5, Google will not only assign a new name to its next version of the Home Mini smart speaker, but also plans to make some changes to the device. When Google christened its new smart screen, Nest Hub Max, in May, it clearly indicated that the company was moving the entire range of Google Home smart devices under the same corporate umbrella that covers its Nest intelligent home appliances line; This makes sense since most smart speakers and smart screens are used inside the house. The second generation of entry-level speakers from Google will therefore call the Nest Mini.

The report says the Nest Mini could be a little bigger than its predecessor and offer better quality sound than the Home Mini. The volume will be stronger and the bass will be amplified too (everything revolves around these basses!). To prove that this new smart speaker belongs to the Nest home smart device lineup, it will supposedly come with an integrated wall mount. And if you feel bad for companies that make 3.5mm jacks, fearing that the trend of the smartphone industry to eliminate the port does not force them to close their doors, we have good news. The Google Mini Nest should be equipped with a 3.5mm stereo jack! Google's 9to5 source, which it described as "reliable," also said the Nest Mini would have a proximity sensor that could reveal the current volume setting when someone approached the device.

If the Nest Mini is designed to replace the Home Mini, it will probably pay the same price of $ 49, although the device is still on sale or part of a promotion. In fact, Best Buy currently offers the speaker at a price of $ 29, a saving of 20 or 40%. Meanwhile, you can expect to see the Nest Mini presented at the same Made by Google event in October that will unpack the Pixel 4, the Pixel 4 XL and any other new device manufactured by Google.

The smart speaker market is probably the most popular technology sector currently. According to Strategy Analytics, global shipments reached 30.3 million units in the second quarter, nearly double the 15.5 million delivered in the same quarter last year. The market is so hot that Google has increased its shipments by 74%, reaching 5.6 million euros over the three-month period, while reducing its market share from 20.8% to 18.5% . The company remains a strong second place in the industry, behind the creator of the Amazon category by only 1 million units in the quarter. The devices are cheap enough to be presented as a gift for almost any occasion and operate via free Wi-Fi. Not only are penetration rates still low enough to indicate that there will still be a few years of decent growth, but many households are also starting to add more units.

What really helps Google position in this market is its virtual assistant, Google Assistant. The latter has consistently outperformed competitors like Alexa from Amazon, Cortana from Microsoft and Siri from Apple in a number of tests. At the end of last year, during a test of smart assistants (as opposed to those found on a smartphone), Siri, Alexa, Cortana and Google Assistant had to answer the same 800 questions. The assistants were noted on the understanding and accuracy; Google Assistant was the only one to correctly understand each question and to display the highest percentage of correct answers (87.9%). Siri was second, Alexa third and Cortana fourth.