I use both the Google Home and Apple Home ecosystems, and that means I’ve used my fair share of smart speakers and displays. I’ve let the Nest Mini, Nest Hub Max, HomePod Mini, and HomePod 2 all power my home — and now it’s the Google Home Speaker’s turn. Google’s new smart speaker retails for $99, matching the price of Apple’s HomePod Mini. So, I put both orb-shaped speakers in my living room for a week, testing their chops as speakers and digital assistants.It’s easy to forget that the HomePod Mini is nearly six years old. Given the smart speaker’s age, I expected the Home Speaker to handily beat it. That didn’t prove to be the case. The Home Speaker is certainly smarter, but the HomePod Mini sounded better. That said, if you need a smart speaker to handle smart home control, casual music playback, and everything in between, there’s only one option I recommend.