Google launches $49 Google Home Mini, rival to Amazon Echo Dot, and $399 Home Max

Four new features that make Google Home a better connected speaker than it was--but it still has growing pains, reports USA TODAY's Jefferson Graham on Talking Tech. Google Home Mini is covered in fabric and comes in three colors. Google Home is going big and going small, as Google challenges Apple and Amazon for smart speaker supremacy. On Wednesday, Google announced a $49 Google Home Mini speaker that will inevitably draw comparisons to Amazon's same-priced Echo Dot. Preorders start today; Home Mini ships Oct. 19.