Google Home Mini hands-on: Smaller, cheaper, subtler

Google's most adorable product launch today is definitely its puck-sized Home Mini. At $49, it'll square up against Amazon's Dot, but like the Dot, it will act as a gateway smart speaker for those not willing to throw down bigger sums of money. I took a look at the Home Mini at Google's satellite London event, and if other speakers left you cold, this unassuming AI speaker might win you over. Google's miniature version hones down last year's Home into a smaller design, but with all of the smarts. The only discernible drawback during my brief hands-on is that sound was (understandably) less bassy, and not quite as loud.