Google Nest Mini

[Z3Dreamer]

I have an Echo Dot. Recently someone gave me a Google Nest Mini, so I have tested it. My conclusion is that it runs flawlessly with a whole bunch of Nest devices but not too much else. Problem is that I have mostly "too much else."

First there is the "OK, Google" issue. I have to disable the wakeup word on my phone Google Assistant or else my phone and the Nest answer me.

We use an app called Our Groceries on our phones. It also works with Echo, so when you use up that last egg in the kitchen you can say "Alexa, ask Our Groceries to add eggs" and it does. Nest does not work with Our Groceries. I would bet that there are other programs it works with and I would bet that the fault for this is the Our Groceries folks for not pushing their developers.

Same situation with Plex. "Alexa, ask Plex to shuffle the playlist, Christmas." The Nest does not work with Plex. And again, the developers at Plex are at fault.

My Honeywell thermostats work with both, as does Pandora.

Both do bluetooth speakers but we have found and possibly could eliminate a 1 second clip when using bluetooth speakers. Have not tried to connect bluetooth speakers to the Nest. For the Echo Dot in the kitchen, some times I need to hear War Pigs at too loud of a volume. So, I have a soundbar plugged into the Echo Dot. No such plug in the Google Nest Mini.

Sometimes I need to hear It's Only Make Believe by Conway Twitty. I just ask "Alexa, play It's Only Make Believe". I get the song by Amazon Music. I do not have the premium subscription. When I say "OK Google, play It's Only Make Believe", she responds with "Playing music by Pandora". I do not get Conway Twitty.

I am interested in your uses of the Google Nest Mini. Maybe it is the technology of the future and I just need to wait?

 

[mitchjav]

Well, do not have a Nest, but have been researching these devices along with
the Echo devices. In theory, if you have the Google version on your phone up-to-date and use the same Google account on both devices, only your Nest should wake-up when you're in-range and say "OK, Google".

Not surprised that more apps, devices work with Echo than Nest. Given Echo's popularity, more developers go there first. You might want to check settings to see if Nest gives you the ability to designate default apps for certain commands (e.g. play music).

 

[JoeWras]

I had the Nest Mini for exactly 18 hours. What a disappointment.

I found it didn't do what I wanted it to do compared to Alexa/Echo, in general. It just wasn't as good in responding to my commands.

Then the final straw was how it didn't work well with YouTube Music.

There is ZERO excuse for this. This is not Plex. This is all Alphabet. YouTube Music is a product forced on us by Alphabet, replacing the old Google Play Music. The Nest is in the same family and should work with anything Google, flawlessly, right?

Nope.

It can't handle playlists I have setup. This is a basic function. So, I got it on a Tuesday afternoon, and returned it on a Wednesday morning. At least the Google Store made the process painless. I just had to drop it off at the UPS store.

I'm finding more and more that Alphabet is starting to remind me of so many other Megacorps. The days of being delighted by their products is gone. They are all just becoming a pain in the a.. to use, with limited function, and obvious rush to market issues.

BTW: reading forums, apparently Nest Mini worked great with Google Play Music. But someone forgot to prioritize it working with YTMusic, and broke it. Typical big corporations with their decision making. One hand doesn't know what the other is doing.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

Mitchjav - Thanks for the suggestions. Checked my phone. Most recent version. Yup. Sat down right next to Nest. Asked "OK, Google play pandora Billy Idol." Both my phone and Nest began playing different songs. Tried asking for weather, news, etc. and IT WORKED. The phone woke up but didn't respond. Nest did. So, maybe it needs to wait a few minutes for the phone and the Nest to realize they are in the same room.

Mitchjav - Google Home does give you the ability to have default apps. It is set to my Pandora subscription. My base Amazon Music is not an allowable app, AFAIK. So, I can't just pick a song.

JoeWras - I feel your pain. At $9.99 a month, I won't be adding Youtube Music so I can struggle to getting it work with my Nest. Especially when I have a Pandora Subscription.

 

[OldShooter]

The only cure for this is time. This is a replay of a very old movie: Vendors invent proprietary interfaces intended to lock users into that vendors' ecosystem. Number of interfaces proliferates. Users finally rebel and insist on standrards. Vendors eventually cave in.

In the industrial arena, big users have indivedual clout and it's easier for them to force things. I was in a standards meeting one time with process control share leaders Honeywell and Foxboro, both throwing sand into the gears of progress as fast as they could. Exonn's rep stopped the discussion and said: "There will be standards and Exxon will only buy hardware with standard interfaces." This changed the tone in the room and standards emerged pretty quickly.

In the consumer space, no one individually has much clout. In many cases, users vote with their feet to adopt one vendor or another. Then the other vendors are forced to reverse-engineer or license. I think that is where we are here, hence I am ignoring the whole home automation space until things settle out. You can always spot the people who were out front in things like this. They are the ones with arrows in their chests.