It seems that just recently Yandex heartily updated this most inaccessible series of smart speakers. And here we are again.
Yandex Station Light 2 surprised many: low portable use, support for easy switching of Wi-Fi networks, the presence of video cards and even compatibility with Matter – it turned out to be a very weak upgrade. Against his background, Yandex Station Mini began to look a little out of place, and it was obvious that her turn would soon come.
Coming out today Yandex Station Mini 3. This is a complete upgrade from the previous generation, incorporating all the improvements that the younger model received in August. Moreover, along with it, Yandex again has restrictions and the lowest main part of any Station: Alice has become much more functional.
I tested Yandex Station Mini 3 for a week. Here’s what’s new in it…
My impressions relate to the pre-release version of the device and the beta version of its firmware. Software it can be replaced by speakers, which went on sale today.
Briefly:
Set. Finally USB-C
The design is now kinder
What else is in Yandex Station Mini 3
Alice’s big update
Who is Yandex Station Mini 3 for and how much does it cost?
Set. Finally USB-C
We have a charger with a USB-C port (12V/2A), white (yes, now removable!) USB-C cable, quick reference booklets. Thanks for the modern charger.
Based on this experience, not every charging unit is suitable: for example, when receiving a 30-watt charge from the Quest 3, the speaker cheerfully and loudly refused to continue working. By the way, the port in the complete unit is rear, which is convenient for cable management.
Unlike the “playful” Light 2, the Mini 3 column does not come with stickers. In principle, there is nowhere to glue them. Not to sculpt on fabric.
The design is now kinder
The appearance of Station Mini 2 for a long time differed in style from the three sizes of Yandex speakers – it turned out to be a transitional period between the design language of the company’s old speakers and the new stage in the Station 2 Lyceum. In Station Mini 3 the body was rounded, the “roughness” was removed in the design, returning the device to the current now the design language of Stations.
The bottom of the cabinet, where the acoustic fabric fits into the rubberized stand, is now rounded. At the top there is a black touch ring with a multicolor (and also touch) Alice logo. LED indication on the edge of the ring, made at the Midi station, is not provided.
But the panel is a little arched: This is a bit of a cautious touch control. And not only “taps” are mentioned, but also “swipe”:
The acoustic fabric reveals a slightly more functional and larger digital display compared to previous generations: it is now emotionsaccording to your request to Alice and her response. The display, as before, displays useful information: in addition to the time, it shows the air temperature, as well as the equalizer. Well, and the eyes, yes, where would we be without them.
The physical microphone mute button is on the back panel. Below it is a USB-C port. In general, the design is now more pleasing in appearance, all “organic”, although a little less compact.
What else is in Yandex Station Mini 3
In addition to the new housing design, at least 3 meets the technical requirements. Mini– improved, more precisely.
Powerful speaker. He is still alone, but his power has increased by 20 percent – to 12 W versus 10 W of the previous generation. The volume of the acoustic chamber has been increased, which should be said about the sound quality. True, this is still not an alternative to larger stations: as for me, the bass is not enough, the built-in equalizer could not correct the situation. By the way, there is now one less microphone, 3 instead of 4, but their effectiveness has depreciated. Compared to the Mini-2 virus, it is necessary to better recognize the voices of commands in a noisy circuit, which improves the efficiency of Alice’s response as a whole.
Added support for Matter over Wi-Fi protocol. Despite all the efforts of the creators of this inevitable protocol for the smart home of the future, the matter is gradually spreading to an increasing number of ordinary, mass-produced smart home devices. Matter’s support over Wi-Fi not only provides the ability to execute commands and results more efficiently and quickly, it also provides the ability to “throw” the same compatible device into multiple ecosystems at once.
Owners of Station Mini 3 can connect the corresponding gadgets both by voice and through the Home with Alice application. I will not repeat the details of using Matter in this article.
Supports quick change of Wi-Fi connection. Mini 3, like Light 2, can be reconnected to another Wi-Fi network without resetting by holding down the microphone mute button for 6 seconds or starting this process manually from the Home with Alice application. This feature is very useful if you take the speaker with you on a trip.
Also, if you have a powerful enough portable battery, you can use the Mini 3 Station anywhere, including outdoors. This is quite a portable smart speaker when you connect it to your smartphone access point.
The battery is Commo Aeon, if that’s the case.
Of course, Alice supports YandexGPT, that is, you can communicate with her as with a full-fledged modern neural network.
Technically, the only thing I’m missing here is Zigbee support. I sat turning over the box of booklets and hoped that I had missed something, but alas. Wi-Fi devices alone will not get you anywhere in a smart home, everyone knows this. I’m surprised that Yandex did not turn Mini 3 into a truly fully functional hub of its ecosystem.
Together with Stan Mini 3 station – a big update for Alice
As an active user of voice commands and the Yandex smart home ecosystem, I have been waiting for this innovation for a very long time. Now Alice can recognize two commands at the same time!
Example:
Alice, turn on the light in the kitchen and start cleaning
Alice, what’s the weather like outside and what’s best to wear today?
Alice, set the alarm for 7 am and turn off the air conditioning in the kitchen.
I emphasize: this full multitasking. Not gradual activation at first one commands, then pauses, activate the action and only then speak creature team. This really bugs me about Siri, and even Amazon’s Alexa doesn’t have it. Now in smart speakers only Google Assistant can do this, but no one in Russia gets it.
Multitasking allows you to significantly save time communicating with Alice through the station and communicating with the assistant for longer monitoring. Thanks to Yandex for an excellent and really useful feature.
Also now reminders and alarms that you have set through Station or Alice will be used in the application. Home with Alice.
You can also personalize the weather forecast so you don’t have to ask follow-up questions about barometric pressure, lunar phases, UV index, humidity, wind direction and speed.
Who is Yandex Station Mini 3 for and how much does it cost?
It seems to me Station Mini 3 – This is a good smart speaker for those who want to get a little more features than the Light 2, including high-quality sound, but are not ready to immediately take the Midi Station or Station 2. It is also ideal for small rooms. I put it in the bedroom, for example, where a large Midi simply wouldn’t be useful.
Compared to the Light 2, the leap upward in this generation of Mini released is not so radical, but these changes are considered more appropriate and long overdue. Literally monthly expansion of Alice’s functionality and introduction into the development of the Yandex smart home ecosystem, Mini 3 can become not only amazing entertainment and a useful pastime for the whole family, but also a serious help in everyday life.
The Mini 2 station will not leave the market and will coexist with the new product. Sales of Station Mini 3 have already been attempted, the official price is 9990 rubles. Available in 3 colors: black, gray and purple.
📸 All photos in the article:
Source: Iphones RU
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
