Google rewards One subscribers with a free Google Home Mini

By Clayton Moore Published March 12, 2019

Image used with permission by copyright holder

American subscribers to Google’s One cloud storage subscription service are getting a bonus this month. Select One subscribers are eligible to get a free Google Home Mini from the company in the next couple of weeks. Google will even cover the shipping to get its nimble smart speaker into your home.

But it’s not just anybody off the street who gets a free Google Home Mini. For some reason, the tech giant is only targeting subscribers to its One service with plans over 2TB, rewarding those cloud storage users who are paying $10 or more per month. The economics of the deal seem pretty good for Google, which is basically rewarding people who pay $120 annually for cloud storage with a smart speaker that currently retails for around $40 at the Google Store, and seems to be perpetually discounted at other retailers.

Recommended Videos

Aside from being a subscriber in a specific tier, there are a couple of other barriers to entry. First, the deal for a free Google Home Mini is only available to One subscribers in the United States so places like Asia or the European Union aren’t eligible.

Secondly, the deal for a free Google Home Mini is only available to One subscribers who bought a 2TB storage plan before March 4. So anyone who just thought to subscribe now is out of luck.

According to people who have parsed the legalese in the terms section, the offer looks to be valid until April 21 for U.S. users who activated their selected plan before March 4. Paid One members should already be getting emails from Google informing them of this month’s bonus prize for being good members of the club. However, if you happened not to get an email with a link to the freebie sign-up sheet, you can still head over to the Google One website and look for a card that says, “Claim Your Google Home Mini — on us.”

It’s not the first time a company has used a free smart speaker as a marketing device — services like eBay and Spotify have regularly used the Google Home Mini as a carrot to lure in new subscribers — but for Google, it looks to be a way to expand the reach of its smart speaker business and get into good graces with customers.

Contributor

Clayton Moore’s interest in technology is deeply rooted in the work of writers like Warren Ellis, Cory Doctorow and Neal…

Topics

Smart Home

The most common Google Home problems and how to fix them

best google home compatible devices hands on 4652

Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home make up the three biggest smart home platforms on the planet. Google Home is popular thanks to its lineup of Nest products, which includes the Nest Hub Max, Nest Doorbell, and Nest Cam, along with many other devices. Best of all, Google Home supports a wide array of third-party products, giving users an easy way to link all their gadgets together and control them from one streamlined app.

But, as you'd expect, getting all these devices working seamlessly isn't always as easy as it sounds. The Google Home platform is also susceptible to the same issues as other smart home platforms, which include various connectivity hiccups and problems with voice commands. Solving these problems is usually pretty easy -- that is, once you know where to look.

Smart Home

Google rolls out new Nest Cam features to Google Home for web

Nest Cams on a counter.

While many users access Google Home on their smartphone or smart display, the platform is also available via web browser. The web-based Google Home experience wasn't exactly the best way to access your smart devices, but that's rapidly changing as Google rolls out new updates to the client -- the latest of which adds a ton of new ways to access your Nest Cams.

Google began rolling out the update late last week, and most users should now have access to the improved Google Home for web experience. The big draw is access to your Nest Cam history and the option to download clips. Prior to this update, it was impossible to view recorded clips via Google Home for web, forcing you to instead jump into the official Google Home app.

Smart Home

How to use the Google Home app on a computer

Google Home icon on home screen.

Google Home is one of the best smart platforms on the market. With support for thousands of devices, easy setup, and a powerful mobile app to run the show, it’s an intuitive option for most shoppers. But what if you don’t want to use your smartphone to operate your smart home network? What if you prefer using your PC? While Google Home does not yet have dedicated PC software, it does offer a Google Home web application. It’s a bit limited in scope, but it can handle most of the basic tasks with ease.

Interested in checking out Google Home on PC? Here’s a look at how it works, along with some of its limitations and other workarounds.
Can you use the Google Home app on a PC?
Google Home doesn't have a PC app, but it does have a website. Unfortunately, Google notes that Google Home for web is in Public Preview, meaning not all features are available, and you may encounter glitches during use. The website is seeing constant updates, so there's a good chance it'll work just as well as the mobile apps in the future. Be sure to check it out regularly to see what's been added.