The Roav Bolt charger from Anker is a small product that works like a Google Home Mini in your car.
The Roav Bolt charger from Anker is a small product that works like a Google Home Mini in your car.
Roav Bolt by Anker is a small product. It is a car charger with two USB ports that fits a lighter plug. It is also like a small Google Home Mini, complete with two microphones specially designed to cancel the echo and noise in a car. It even has the 4 traditional LED lights that look on top of the Home Mini when it is active. If you have an old car and live entirely in the Google ecosystem, you might see it as an interesting product. Once it is plugged in and configured, you can only say "Hello Google" and it will light up and listen to your commands: you get an Internet connection from your phone. It works mainly with Android phones, but there is also a beta version for iPhone users.
To get sound, Google recommends using the auxiliary input: there is one in the Bolt and a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable included in the box. When you do that, the Bolt really works as a Google homepage in your car. You can do everything a Home can do, or perhaps more specifically, everything the Google Assistant can do on your phone. If you ask for directions, Google Maps will automatically open on your phone and navigation will begin. You can also read notifications as they arrive, although Google tries to be smart so you do not overload yourself. If your friend is texting you, the first one will be read, but then you will only make small sounds for the rest until you request to listen to them. You can also respond to messages.