It all started a little over a year ago, in July 2018, when the first Yandex hardware device was introduced - the Yandex.Station "smart" column was released under the YNDX-0001 index. But we didn’t have time to be surprised, and the YNDX series devices equipped with Alice’s proprietary voice assistant (or focused on working with it) fell like a cornucopia. And now, to test the next novelty, I’m already bringing home the “full package of Yandex” - in it and and and . Except that No. But there is something else...
We have already talked about almost all of these devices. Some of them aroused admiration, some - restrained skepticism, but one way or another we have to admit that Yandex branded devices have not become a curiosity, produced in single copies only for participation in exhibitions and transmission to the media. Yandex does not disclose exact data on the number of devices sold, - for the first half of the year, revenue from the sale of gadgets amounted to 413 million rubles. However, while they bring Yandex a loss, which, in turn, amounts to 293 million rubles. According to the estimates of the analytical company Canalys, the volume of deliveries of Yandex.Station for the entire time amounted to about 100 thousand units - these are unconfirmed data, but even if they are doubled, the result is still very good. At the same time, the cost of Yandex.Station even increased this year - from 9 to 990 rubles, but this does not interfere with its popularity. According to representatives of retail chains, Yandex.Station sales continue to grow.
So what else is in my package and why do I remember in such detail how the history of Yandex brand devices began? Because I have to get acquainted with the new product - YNDX-0004, and you, of course, have already guessed that this is the younger sister of the first Station - Yandex.Station Mini.
| Index | Устройство |
|---|---|
| YNDX-0001 | |
| YNDX-0002 | Yandex.Module |
| YNDX-0003 | |
| YNDX-0004 | Yandex.Station Mini |
| YNDX-0005 | |
| YNDX-0006 | |
| YNDX-0007 | |
| YNDX-000SB |
Contents of delivery
I understand perfectly well: if I wrote that Yandex.Station Mini comes in a marble box, most readers would still not notice this, because they skip this section. Indeed, what could be more boring than a description of the packaging (believe me, for the author too)? But in this case, I still want to say a few words about the packaging, because the designers who developed it really tried. The side surfaces of a small cardboard box list the main features of the device and examples of voice commands. The image of Yandex.Station Mini on the lid is supplemented with stamping, which makes the sidewall of the device in the photo rough to the touch, and the inner lid is greeted with the inscription: “Meet: this is your Yandex.Station Mini.” Nice attention to detail.
Inside the user's box, in addition to the device itself, there is a compact 7,5 W power adapter, a USB cable for connecting to this adapter, an accordion booklet with instructions and three sheets of branded stickers - the latter will be equally happy both for fans of decorating the cover of their laptop and younger children.
And one more thing that the buyer of Yandex.Station Mini receives, but you won’t find it inside the box, is a 3-month free subscription to the Yandex.Plus service, it is activated when the device is first registered.
Design, specifications
Have I already said that the designers have tried? This applies to no lesser extent to the appearance of the device itself. It is very pleasant that in the Mini's design there is so much continuity and features borrowed from the "big sister". The cylindrical shape of the device and notches along the perimeter of the upper surface are a clear reference to the shape and appearance of the volume control of the first Yandex.Station. And the side wall that covers the speaker (for the Mini, unfortunately, is not removable) is made of exactly the same material as the first model, so when two Stations stand side by side, you can immediately see that these are devices from the same company and the same series .
Unlike the older model, Yandex.Station Mini is equipped with only one button located on the side surface. A short press on it disables the device's microphones at the hardware level (as stated by the manufacturer, but we have no reason to doubt, right?), And a long press switches the device's operating modes. It's easy to mistake the Alice logo circle on the top of the device for a button, but no, it's just an LED indicator. By the way, the plastic strip on the side of the device, on which the button and the USB connector are located (I am glad that modern Type-C is used here) is also a reference to the design of the “big sister”.
Yandex.Station Mini is equipped with an array of four microphones and a single speaker, the power of the device is 3 watts. And if in the case of the first model, the representatives of the company made a special emphasis on the high quality of sound, then in the case of the Mini, this topic is silent. Indeed, it is not necessary to expect outstanding sound and even more rich sound picture with deep bass from such a baby. However, the sound is quite good and definitely more interesting than the cousins we tested earlier - Irbis A and DEXP Smartbox. But still, compared to other Bluetooth speakers, this is rather a junior level.
The wired USB connection is only used to power the device. By the way, we should not have expected autonomy from the Mini - this speaker is not equipped with a battery, so it must be constantly connected to the power source. To be honest, the use case, which implies the ability to take the device to the next room, seems to me much more natural and organic - it would be great not to interrupt listening to music by going to the kitchen for dinner, and it is not always possible to hear Alice or shout to her from the next room.
Moreover, the rest of Yandex.Station Mini uses only wireless interfaces - Wi-Fi to connect to the Internet and Bluetooth to play music from other devices. A 3,5 mm jack is also provided - the sound from the Mini can be output to another speaker system.
| Yandex.Station Mini | |
|---|---|
| Dimensions (diameter x height), mm | 90 × 45 |
| Mass, g | 170 |
| Gesture control sensor | TOF |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11b / g / n |
| Bluetooth | 4.2 BLE |
| Speaker, W | 1 × 3 |
| Number of microphones | 4 |
| price, rub. | 3 990 |
User experience
For those who are familiar with multimedia devices built on the basis of the Yandex platform with the Alice voice assistant, Mini will not bring many discoveries. In the absence of an Internet connection, Yandex.Station is completely helpless and useless. To activate and configure the Mini, you need to use the Yandex mobile application, in the "Devices" section of which the Wi-Fi connection parameters are set and transmitted to it using a sound code. If you're as fond of Lucas' R2D2 as I am, then this simple procedure will surely amuse you.
After connecting to the Network, Yandex.Station Mini offers all the same features that are familiar to us from the first model and partner devices Irbis A and DEXP Smartbox. Alice can be asked to turn on music, both a specific song or artist, or just selections for the mood or situation. By the way, recently it became possible to ask Alice to remember the owner's voice. To do this, you need to repeat a few phrases after Alice. Having learned to recognize the owner by voice, Alice will not only call him by name, but, more importantly, use only his “likes” and “dislikes” to create a profile of musical interests, and not all household members and guests in a row.
A virtual assistant can provide almost any background information, talk about news, weather or traffic jams, remind you of something after a specified time, or suggest a recipe. Children can play with Alice more than a dozen games, riddles, listen to a fairy tale or a song. In the end, you can just chat with Alice, but I can’t imagine how lonely it must be for such communication to be entertaining more than once - personally, this conversation quickly bored me.
In addition, Mini allows you to use skills — special scenarios created by both Yandex engineers and third-party developers. At the time of this writing, all the help pages for Mini, and therefore the exact list of compatible skills, were not yet available, but by the time you read this material, this information will already be public for sure. However, most likely, Mini will have access to all the same skills that are intended for the older Station.
And finally, Yandex.Station Mini can manage the infrastructure of a smart home built on the basis of the Yandex IO platform. We talked in detail about the devices and capabilities of the system in the review of the Yandex smart home. Here I will only note that I tried the Mini with all the available devices - light bulbs, a socket, a remote control - everything worked fine, and setting up the components turned out to be very simple. The only drawback is the delay between the voice command and its execution: first, Alice digests the command (not locally, because voice recognition takes place in the Yandex DC), then some time is spent transmitting the command to the smart home server and then from the server to the executing device. The delay does not exceed a couple of seconds, but even they are enough to destroy the feeling of magic a little.
Speaking of magic… Yes, yes, I decided to leave the most interesting for last. If the owner of the Mini didn't feel like a Jedi while listening to R2D2's voice during setup, he will definitely feel it when controlling the Station with gestures! The device is equipped with a TOF (Time Of Flight) sensor located on the upper end of the case. So far, only three gestures are provided. To increase the volume, you need to bring your hand to the device and begin to slowly raise it, to decrease it, lower it. And to quickly turn off the sound completely, just cover the Mini with your palm (for some reason this gesture was not recognized in bluetooth speaker mode, but company representatives assured us that the defect would be corrected by the announcement of the device). Perhaps later the developers will implement some more gestures.
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In addition, a simple game is implemented on the basis of gestures - the synthesizer mode. Ask Alice: "What synthesizer sounds do you know?" - and she will name one of several dozen sounds (currently 33) that were created specifically for the speaker by professional electronic musicians. Sounds can be controlled by hand, thus playing the speaker as if it were a musical instrument. To make it more fun, you can turn on sounds over a song and play along with it. In the future, it is planned to add the ability to upload your own sounds to the column. As a demonstration of the possibilities of gesture control, the synthesizer mode is quite funny, but, like chatting with Alice, it can hardly interest you seriously more than once.
Perhaps it was the presence of a constantly activated TOF sensor that prevented the creators of Yandex.Station Mini from making this device autonomous and mobile. Firstly, the instructions indicate that, in order to avoid false positives, Mini should not be installed next to tall objects. Secondly, having decided to turn the included Mini in my hands, I caused a chaotic operation of the sensor and a change in volume - it reacted to changes in the distance to the walls and ceiling and was 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. And at the same time it costs more - 3 rubles against 990 rubles for a DEXP device and 3 rubles for Irbis price - 299 rubles). Whether this difference is compensated by a more thoroughbred design, better (subjectively, I admit) sound quality and gesture control is up to you. But personally, I definitely prefer the original device from Yandex.
Sales of Yandex.Station Mini will start on October 31st. The device can be purchased online at Beru and Svyaznoy, as well as offline at the Yandex store. A company representative said that the day before, anyone could get a column for free by bringing any unnecessary audio equipment to the Yandex store in Moscow.
Source: 3dnews.ru