Blue Debuts Its First Post-Logitech Mic, Yeti Nano

Blue Microphones offers a variety of microphones to suit the varying budgets, requirements and preferences of people who talk for a living. Today, the creative space mainstay announced the Yeti Nano, a smaller version of the popular Yeti model that an untold number of creatives have long used as an entry-level microphone, as its first new product since Logitech acquired it at the end of July.

Logitech is said to have paid $117 million in cash for Blue. At the time Logitech said it was buying the microphone maker to find a new way to grow "with additional synergies related to our existing gaming, PC webcam and audio categories." But the Yeti Nano shows no sign of any synergy with Logitech; chances are decent that Blue developed Yeti Nano before the acquisition closed.

The Yeti Nano appears to live up to its namesake by offering many of the same features as the Yeti proper. It sacrifices one of the proprietary Blue condenser capsules, bringing the total down to two, so it might not offer the same recording quality as the Yeti. The Yeti Nano does maintain the USB plug-and-play ease of use that made its predecessor so popular, though, and it still supports 24-bit/48kHz recording. That should be fine for casual use.

The diminutive microphone also supports multiple recording options--cardioid mode picks up sound from the front of the mic, omnidirectional grabs everything around it--but the Yeti Nano lacks the stereo and bidirectional options present in the Yeti. Those options pick up sound on the left and right sides or front and back, respectively, for recording music or conversations. However, how much those limitations matter depend on the Yeti Nano's intended use.

It seems like the $99.99 Yeti Nano targets people who want a microphone but aren't willing to spend more than $100. The mic should satisfy that need--most people don't need a bunch of recording options or condenser capsules for video calls, viewer-less streams, or very basic recording. The Yeti is the jack-of-all-trades; the Yeti Nano is the apprentice that has picked up a few basic tricks.

One of those tricks is support for the new Blue Sherpa app (kudos to both companies for staying on brand). In Logitech's announcement today, it said Blue Sherpa "features quick and direct control options from your desktop to help you get the most from your mic" by letting you "mute and unmute your mic and headphones, fine-tune gain and levels, switch polar patterns and change sample rates." It can also automatically download firmware updates.

People willing to spend an extra $30 would probably be better off buying the original Yeti, which is supposed to get Blue Sherpa support in the future. For anyone who'd rather keep that money, however, the Yeti Nano is a smaller step down than Blue's $69.99 Snowball. The Yeti Nano could also make an appealing traveling microphone; smaller dimensions matter a lot more in a bag than they do on a desk.

Blue releasing a new microphone with Blue Sherpa support less than a month after Logitech acquired it is a good sign. It lends credence to the idea that Logitech doesn't simply plan to use Blue's technology in its products and let the brand fade into obsolescence. Podcasters, streamers and others loyal to the Blue brand needn't fear yet.