Google is rumored to be working on a mini Google Home to compete with Amazon's Echo Dot (GOOG, GOOGL, AMZN)

Google Home

Along with new Pixel smartphones, Google is apparently cooking up a smaller Google Home smart speaker device powered by artificial intelligence (AI), according to Android Police.

Few details exist about a smaller model of the Google Home, but there's a high likelihood that it'll simply be a smaller version of the original Google Home.

It sounds like it could be similar to Amazon's $50 Echo Dot, which is also essentially a smaller and cheaper version of the original Echo, which usually costs $180 (it's going for $100 on Amazon at the time of writing).

With that in mind, a smaller and cheaper Google Home would let you add more Google Home devices throughout your home without thinning your wallet quite as much as multiple $130 Google Homes. Alternatively, a cheaper Google Home could make a great entry device for anyone who wants to try out a smart speaker.

It's pure speculation, but the new mini Google Home could have similar abilities as the regular Google Home, which is powered by Google's own artificial intelligent assistant called Google Assistant. That means you could ask the mini Google Home for answers to basic questions, control music playback, make phone calls, manage your calendar, and control your smart home.

It's unclear if the mini Google Home will have any additional features over the regular model, like the Echo Dot has over the original Echo. For reference, Amazon's diminutive Echo Dot has a few features that the original Echo doesn't, like the ability to connect to a separate speaker via Bluetooth or auxiliary cable. Still, the mini Google Home in an unreleased, unconfirmed device, and rumors about it should be taken with a grain of salt.

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