New article: Review of Yandex.Station Mini: Jedi gadgets

It all started a little over a year ago, in July 2018, when the first hardware device from Yandex was introduced — the 'smart' speaker Yandex.Station under the index YNDX-0001. Just when we thought we were sufficiently amazed, devices from the YNDX series, equipped with the proprietary voice assistant Alice (or designed to work with it), began pouring in like a cornucopia. And now, for testing the next new product, I bring home a 'complete Yandex package' — it includes the first Yandex.Station, and smart home elements, and devices with Alice from other Russian developers. Except for Yandex.Phone there's nothing. But there is something else…

We have already talked about almost all of these devices. Some of them inspired admiration, while others were met with reserved skepticism, but one way or another, we have to admit that Yandex's branded devices have not become a rarity produced in limited quantities just for exhibitions and media giveaways. Yandex does not disclose exact sales figures for its devices, only mentioning the total sales amount — for the first half of the year, revenue from gadget sales amounted to 413 million rubles. However, at the moment, they are causing Yandex losses of 293 million rubles. According to estimates from the analytical company Canalys, the total supplies of Yandex.Station have reached around 100,000 units — this is unverified data, but even if it is inflated twofold, the result is still quite good. Meanwhile, the price of Yandex.Station has even increased this year — from 9,990 to 10,990 rubles, but this does not hinder its popularity. According to retail representatives, the sales of Yandex.Station continue to grow. 

So what else do I have in the package and why do I recall in detail how the story of Yandex devices began? Because I am about to get acquainted with the novelty — YNDX-0004, and you, of course, have already guessed that it's the younger sister of the first Station — Yandex.Station Mini. 

⇡#What's in the Box

I fully understand: if I were to write that the Yandex.Station Mini comes in a marble box, most readers would still miss it since they tend to skip that section. Indeed, what could be more boring than a description of the packaging (believe me, it's no fun for the author either)? But in this case, I do want to say a few words about the packaging because the designers who developed it really put in the effort. The sides of the small cardboard box list the main features of the device and examples of voice commands. The image of the Yandex.Station Mini on the lid is complemented by embossing that makes the side of the device in the picture feel rough to the touch, and the inner lid welcomes you with the inscription: "Meet your Yandex.Station Mini." It's a nice attention to detail. 

Inside the box, users will find not only the device but also a compact 7.5W power adapter, a USB cable for connecting to this adapter, a folded booklet with instructions, and three sheets of branded stickers — these will be equally welcomed by both those who love to decorate their laptop lids and younger children. 

And one more thing that the buyer of the Yandex.Station Mini receives, but won't find inside the box — a 3-month free subscription to the Yandex.Plus service, which activates upon the first registration of the device. 

⇡#Design, Features

Did I already mention that the designers put in great effort? This is also true for the appearance of the device itself. It’s very pleasing that in the Mini's design, there is so much continuity and traits borrowed from its “older sister.” The cylindrical shape of the device and the notches around the upper surface clearly reference the shape and appearance of the volume control of the first Yandex.Station. The side panel covering the speaker (which is unfortunately not removable on the Mini) is made from exactly the same material as the first model — so when two Stations stand next to each other, it's immediately clear that these are devices from the same company and series. 

Unlike the older model, Yandex.Station Mini has just one button located on the side. A short press on it disables the device's microphones at the hardware level (as claimed by the manufacturer, but we have no reason to doubt it, right?), while a long press switches the device’s operation modes. It’s easy to mistake the circular button with Alice's logo on top of the device for a button, but no, that's just a LED indicator. By the way, the plastic strip on the side of the device, where the button and USB port are located (it's nice that it uses modern Type-C), also nods to the design of the “older sister.”

Yandex.Station Mini is equipped with a set of four microphones and a single speaker, with a power output of 3 watts. While in the case of the first model, company representatives emphasized the high sound quality, this topic is rather silent for the Mini. Indeed, one shouldn't expect outstanding sound, especially rich soundscapes with deep bass from such a tiny device. However, the sound quality is quite decent and definitely more interesting than that of its earlier cousins — Irbis A and DEXP Smartbox. Nevertheless, compared to other Bluetooth speakers, it is on the lower end.  

The wired USB connection is used solely for powering the device. By the way, we unjustly expected Mini to have some battery life — this speaker is not equipped with a battery, so it must be constantly connected to a power source. Honestly, a usage scenario that involves taking the device to another room seems much more natural and organic to me — it would be great not to interrupt music playback when heading to the kitchen for dinner, and being able to hear Alice or shout to her from another room isn't always possible. 

Moreover, in other respects, Yandex.Station Mini only uses wireless interfaces — Wi-Fi for connecting to the Internet and Bluetooth for playing music from other devices. A 3.5mm jack is also provided — sound from the Mini can be output to another sound system.  

⇡#User Experience

For those familiar with multimedia devices built on the Yandex platform featuring the voice assistant Alice, the Mini won't bring many surprises. Without an internet connection, Yandex.Station is completely helpless and useless. To activate and set up the Mini, you need to use the Yandex mobile app, where you can set the Wi-Fi connection parameters in the 'Devices' section and transmit them using a sound code. If you feel as fondly about Lucas's R2D2 as I do, this simple procedure will certainly amuse you. 

Once connected to the Internet, Yandex.Station Mini offers all the same features that we are well acquainted with from the first model and from partner devices Irbis A and DEXP Smartbox. You can ask Alice to play music, whether it's a specific song or artist, or just playlists to match your mood or situation. By the way, recently it has become possible to ask Alice to remember the owner's voice. To do this, you'll need to repeat a few phrases after Alice. Once she learns to recognize the owner by their voice, Alice will not only address them by name but, more importantly, will create a profile of musical interests using only their 'likes' and 'dislikes,' rather than those of all household members and guests. 

The virtual assistant can provide almost any informational support, tell you about news, weather, or traffic jams, remind you about something at a specified time, or suggest a recipe. Children can play with Alice in more than a dozen games, solve riddles, listen to stories, or songs. Ultimately, you can just chat with Alice, but I can't imagine how lonely one must feel for such communication to entertain more than once—personally, I quickly grew bored of this conversation. 

In addition, Mini allows the use of skills — special scripts created both by Yandex engineers and third-party developers. At the time of writing this article, all the documentation pages for Mini, and hence the exact list of compatible skills, were still unavailable, but by the time you read this material, this information will certainly be public. However, it is likely that Mini will have access to all the same skills that are intended for the senior Station. 

Finally, Yandex.Stacja Mini can manage the smart home infrastructure built on the Yandex IO platform. We provided a detailed overview of the devices and capabilities of the system in our smart home review of Yandex. I will only note here that I tried Mini with all available devices — light bulbs, outlets, remote controls — everything worked perfectly, and configuring the components turned out to be very simple. The only downside is the delay between the voice command and its execution: first, Alice processes the command (not locally, as voice recognition occurs at Yandex's data center), then some time is spent transmitting the command to the smart home server and then to the executing device. The delay does not exceed a couple of seconds, but even that is enough to somewhat destroy the sense of magic.     

By the way, speaking of magic… Yes, yes, I decided to save the most interesting for last. If the owner of Mini did not feel like a Jedi while listening to R2D2's voice during setup, they will definitely feel it when controlling the Station with gestures! The device is equipped with a TOF sensor (Time Of Flight), located on the top edge of the case. Currently, only three gestures are provided. To increase the volume, you need to bring your hand to the device and start raising it smoothly; to decrease the volume, lower it. And to quickly mute the sound completely, simply cover Mini with your palm (in Bluetooth speaker mode, this gesture was, for some reason, not recognized, but company representatives assured us that this glitch will be fixed by the device's announcement). Perhaps later the developers will implement more gestures. 

Additionally, a simple game is implemented based on gestures – the synthesizer mode. Ask Alice: "What synthesizer sounds do you know?" – and she will name one of several dozen sounds (currently there are 33), created specifically for the speaker by professional electronic musicians. You can control the sounds with your hand, thus playing the speaker like a musical instrument. To make it more fun, you can layer sounds over a song and play along. In the future, there are plans to add the ability to upload your own sounds to the speaker. As a demonstration of the gesture control capabilities, the synthesizer mode is quite entertaining, but, like chatting with Alice, it may not captivate more than once.  

Perhaps it is precisely the presence of the constantly activated TOF sensor that prevented the creators of Yandex.Station Mini from making the device autonomous and mobile. Firstly, the instructions state that in order to avoid false triggers, Mini should not be placed near tall objects. Secondly, when I decided to turn the powered-on Mini in my hands, I caused chaotic sensor activation and volume changes — it reacted to changes in distance to the walls and ceiling and became completely confused. Obviously, the same thing will happen if you try to move the Station to another room. In general, if you want to be like a Jedi — be calm and unhurried, like a Jedi.  

⇡#Conclusions

At first glance, Yandex.Station Mini does not differ much from the already familiar compact speakers with Alice — Irbis A and DEXP Smartbox. However, it is more expensive — 3,990 rubles compared to 3,299 rubles for the DEXP device and 3,490 rubles for the Irbis (it should be noted that on Beru.ru this speaker can be purchased for 3,290 rubles, and at Citylink there is currently a special price of 1,990 rubles). Whether this difference is compensated by a more refined design, better (subjectively, I admit) sound quality, and gesture control is up to you to decide. But personally, I will definitely prefer the original device from Yandex. 

Sales of the Yandex Station Mini will begin on October 31. The device will be available for purchase online at Beru and Svyaznoy, as well as offline at the Yandex store. A company representative stated that the day before, anyone can receive a speaker for free by bringing any unwanted audio equipment to the Yandex store in Moscow.

Source: 3dnews.ru