The market for digital assistants is expanding more and more, and also extends to devices that have little to do with smart speakers. Today Amazon and Google have at least one smart display in their catalog, and it seems that Apple is also starting to work on a similar project.
The first version of Google’s smart display arrived three years ago: it was called the Google Home Hub, then took the Nest brand, like other Mountain View home automation appliances. The new model has recently been available, which we have been testing for some time.
What is that
The Google Nest Hub is a small (7-inch) tablet resting on a base. The intent is to rethink the old digital photo frame, so popular at the beginning of the Second Millennium, and transform it into a versatile and intelligent object. This description was valid for the first version released in 2018, and applies equally well to the second, which is identical apart from the color of the soft rubber layer under the base: no longer orange but black. Plastic looks the same, but this time – according to Google – it’s 54% recycled.
What does he do
The Nest Hub can send commands to devices on the network, function as a terminal for video calls, allow you to monitor electricity consumption and keep the weather under control, but also to view YouTube and search the web. The second version boasts a richer and more original graphical interface, but otherwise the functions are more or less the same as the competitors (first of all, Amazon’s Echo Show 8). This is during the day, because it is what happens at night that makes the difference. Placed on the bedside table next to the bed, the Nest Hub can in fact monitor the sleep of those closest by analyzing their movements and breathing, using the Motion Sense function, based on a low-energy radar technology called Soli, as well as microphones and sensors.
Sing me to sleep
The Nest Hub detects coughing and snoring, as well as changes in light and temperature in the room, to understand what affects sleep. He can also distinguish how long we stay in bed without sleep. Sleep tracking can help you sleep better and improve your quality of life in general, so Google in addition to the data will provide some guidance provided by organizations such as the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. These tips are compiled after an analysis of several nights of sleep and highlight some significant aspects of sleep, explain why they are important, and provide advice for improvement.
Every morning, when you wake up, you will be able to consult a personalized sleep summary on the display, to be used, if desired, in the Google Fit app together with other information relating to health and well-being.
To protect privacy, you can choose whether or not to enable these functions, and an indicator on the display informs you when they are active; there is also a switch to physically disable the microphone, while the camera is completely absent. Motion Sense, explains Google, only detects motion, not bodies or faces; the audio data is processed on the device, it is not sent to the Mountain View servers. But this does not mean that, even if anonymized, other information is not transmitted: so sleep, first with bracelets and smart watches, then with the new Nest Hub, becomes the last frontier in which to collect data. With a certain irony, the monitoring function is free until the end of the year, then you will have to pay to use it.
In fine
For the rest, the Nest Hub actually sounds better than its predecessor, although certainly the audio quality cannot be defined as hi-fi, and over three-quarters of the volume clearly deteriorates. There is no audio output, which might come in handy; highs and lows are adjusted from the app (for Android and iOS) or directly from the display settings. There is also Spotify Connect, which allows you to control the Nest directly from the app of the Swedish music streaming platform, and if necessary there is even bluetooth. The understanding of the voice requests is very good, the compatibility with smart devices is wide, the price (99 euros) is in line with the competition. Recommended, especially for those who already have several Android devices.
What we like
- Better sound than the previous version
- Excellent automatic adjustment of night brightness
- Well designed interface
- Not bulky
- Very versatile
What we don’t like
- Design a bit anonymous
- Paid sleep tracking after the trial period
- There is no video camera, so no video calls
- There is Netflix but there is no Amazon
- Also this time the headphone output is missing