Google Assistant smart speakers often serve only two main purposes – to accept commands and play music. With Xiaomi’s new Google Assistant smart speaker, you also get the ability to control your TV and other electronic devices through an infrared transmitter.
The “Xiaomi Smart Speaker IR Control” has been launched in India and is well known for what is in the name. It has a built-in ability to control nearby electronics using infrared signals.
In essence, the Google Assistant smart speaker works like everyone else. It has the same basic features as something like the Google Nest Mini. “Hey Google” unlocks microphones with support for queuing music, controlling smart home devices, setting timers, and asking questions, among other things.
For listening to music, the Xiaomi Smart Speaker IR has 360-degree surround sound. Xiaomi says it also has two long-range microphones, and there is the usual support for Stereo Pair through the Google Home app.
The standout feature here, though, is the infrared control. Infrared light is used to control certain electronics, with the signal being output from the speaker. Examples of devices that can be controlled in this way include the vast majority of televisions, some air conditioning units, fans, and many others.
Infrared devices are connected and controlled through the Xiaomi Mi Home app, where the speaker is traditionally added through the Google Home app. Range set at 10m in unobstructed environments.
Another nice touch to the Xiaomi Smart Speaker IR Control is that it has a built-in digital clock, something we’ve seen before on Google Assistant speakers like those made by Best Buy’s Insignia brand.
Pricing on Xiaomi’s new IR speaker drops at R5,999 in India, currently discounted to R4,999. Unfortunately, it is unclear if the device will be sold in other regions.
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