It’s been two years since Google replaced the diminutive Home Mini with a newer version, but Google has kept on selling the four-year-old smart speaker—until now, that is.
As first spotted by 9to5Google, the Home Mini was listed as “No longer available” on the Google Store on Monday. By Tuesday morning, links to the store’s Home Mini product page were redirecting to the newer Nest Mini.
While the Home Mini is no longer listed on the Google Store, it’s unclear if the speaker has in fact been discontinued; we’ve reached out to Google for more details.
It’s not too surprising to hear that Google has ceased sales of the Home Mini; indeed, it’s actually more surprising that Google has continued offering the aging speaker on its online store up to now.
The Home Mini is still available from a few third-party retailers, but stock appears to be dwindling, and we’re no longer seeing the rock-bottom prices that have been spotted in recent months.
Home Depot, for example, is currently selling the Home Mini for $25. That’s half-off its original $50 list price—not bad, but a far cry from the fire sale we saw back in August at Lowe’s, which briefly sold the speaker for a mere $13. Meanwhile, Newegg and Walmart have the Home Mini for $34 and $38.95, respectively. Best Buy is sold out.
The Home Mini’s successor, the Nest Mini, is currently on sale for $25 (normally it’s $50) through most outlets. Given that $25 is the best price on a Home Mini right now, the newer Nest Mini is the better deal for most smart speaker shoppers.
With its hockey puck design and fabric covering, the Nest Mini looks virtually identical to the Home Mini, although there are differences if you look closely. (Read our full Nest Mini review.)
For one, there’s a new mounting hole on the bottom of the Nest Mini for hanging it from a hook. There’s also another key difference: The newer Nest Mini has a barrel-shaped charging port, versus the microUSB charging port for the Home Mini. That small change might actually sway some shoppers toward the older speaker, since it can be powered by a 5V microUSB phone charger.
Aside from that edge case, however, most smart home users will probably prefer the Nest Mini, which boast better sound (well, marginally better, at least), an additional microphone, improved capacitive touch controls, proximity sensors, and an on-device AI chip that allows for faster responses from Google Assistant.