Google Home Hub Google Nest Hub Review: A Good Cheap Echo Show Alternative

Table of Content

• Google Nest Hub: Voice calling
• Hands-on: Google Pixel 3 & 3 XL, Google Home Hub, Google Pixel Slate, more
• Google promo leaks Pixel 3, Home Hub, and Pixel Slate in its entirety
• Reviews
• [Update: Final renders, details] Everything Google’s debuting at its 2018 ‘Made by Google’ event: Pixel 3, Home Hub, and more

But if you do put it in your bedroom, I am happy to report that it is a very good smart alarm clock and automatic sleep tracking device. The interface that Google started rolling out to the older Nest Hub late last year really invites you to touch the screen and rely less on voice commands to do everything. But as I mentioned at the outset, the Nest Hub is just too slow to really make this a pleasant experience.

And as a bonus, you can pull up videos just by saying “Hey, Google, play a cat video.” You’d have to navigate to YouTube through a browser to do the same on the Echo Show. Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. While it’s not as large or loud as the Echo Show, the Google Home Hub is an affordable and capable alternative for those looking for a smart display. While it’s not as large or loud as the Echo Show, the Google Home Hub—now called the Google Nest Hub—is an affordable and capable alternative for those looking for a smart display. But I wish Google had spent as much time optimizing the performance and experience of the Nest Hub as it has adding new features, which seem to be bogging down the device more than anything else.

Google Nest Hub: Voice calling

Combine the Home Hub’s simplicity and intelligence with the functionality offered by the speaker itself and you have the makings for a must-have smart home ecosystem that has only a couple of shortcomings. Google has also launched another Google Assistant speaker, the Google Nest Hub Max – the first product to launch under the new converged brand name of Google and smart home device manufacturer Nest. Because there are a lot of similarities, the Google Home Hub is a device we almost feel like we’ve used before. For example, it has the auto-updating Google Photos gallery and Home View, which shows your entire smart home at a glance and adds Google's touch to things. The Information reported that Google Home's internal hardware was very similar to that of the Chromecast, with the same ARM processor and Wi-Fi chip.

Previously, he was the Senior Editor of Home Entertainment at TechRadar, covering TVs, headphones, speakers, video games, VR and streaming devices. He's also written for GamesRadar+, Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer and other outlets over the last decade, and he has a degree in computer science he's not using if anyone wants it. Beyond the tangible products that integrate with Google Assistant, there are a vast number of apps and services that work here, too. This list includes Google mainstays like Google Calendar and Google Play Music, but also apps like Spotify, HBO Now, Uber, NPR, ESPN, Walmart, Target and many, many others. The latter two can be streamed to the Google Home Hub via a live feed while the former can be controlled either via voice or the UI on the Hub itself.

Hands-on: Google Pixel 3 & 3 XL, Google Home Hub, Google Pixel Slate, more

It’s remarkable how effective Google’s tuning is at re-creating how a printed image looks. Unlike the crappy digital photo frames that were popular a decade ago, the Home Hub actually does justice to your images. I found myself just staring at the thing for minutes at a time waiting for it to refresh with a new memory. (You can also swipe through images when it’s in the ambient slideshow mode.) I’m surprised the company doesn’t employ the same effect on the Pixel 3 smartphones. During its October 4, 2017 event, Google unveiled the Google Home Max, which was released on December 11, 2017.

These deals on Made by Google 2018 products start today, with some ending on Christmas Eve. Mother’s Day in the U.S. is next Sunday, May 12th and Google has a clever ad that ties into its iconic “Hey Google” hotword. The one minute clip is accompanied by a Google Store sale on Home products, including a return of the $99 Home Hub.

Google promo leaks Pixel 3, Home Hub, and Pixel Slate in its entirety

With the Google Assistant built-in, you’ll always get your best and latest shots from Google Photos. On March 28, 2018, Google made the announcement via their blog that users would be able to pair any of their Google Home devices to their own Bluetooth speakers without requiring the use of a Chromecast streamer. Turn off the notifications that aren’t useful, delete the apps you don’t want and set up your home screen with the apps that you want to spend your time and energy on. If you are trying to read more in 2019 or practice a language, put those apps on your home screen so they are easy to reach for when you have downtime. Set a bedtime for your devices and give yourself time to wind down before you go to sleep.

And it’s not just Search to receive the visual update - major Google services, like YouTube, Photos and Maps have been optimized to provide both relevant audio feedback and visual feedback based on your voice search commands. If that sounds like a strange design decision, it’s because Google wants the Home Hub to be as welcome into your bedroom as it is on the kitchen table without you having to worry about it recording your … ahem … more intimate moments. On May 25, 2021, an update for the Preview Program released to the first generation model replaced the Linux-based Cast OS with Google Fuchsia, becoming the first commercial device to ever feature the operating system.

Google Home Hub may be priced aggressively at $149, a reported retail listing says

At first, I had a bit of trouble figuring out how I was supposed to use the Nest Hub’s touchscreen. When you aren’t using the device, it cycles through your Google Photos as a screensaver. That’s a neat feature, but at first, I couldn’t remember whether I needed to swipe left, right, up, down, or just tap to get back to the home screen. According to Google Photos, I have 8,536 photos of my two daughters stretching back to the day my eldest was born. Thanks to the new Google Home Hub, I’ve been able to revisit hundreds of these photos over the past few days, each one tugging at my heartstrings and bringing up fond memories of them growing up as it flashed across the screen. Last but not least, the Home Hub makes a lot of sense for the smart home enthusiast who’s gone a bit overboard on devices.

It is a larger version of the Google Home device with stereo speakers , an audio connector , and a USB Type-C connector intended for a wired ethernet adapter. Reviewers compared the Home Max to Sonos smart speakers and Apple's HomePod. Leading up to Google’s October 9th hardware event, we were baffled by the lack of a camera on the Home Hub smart display.

The Home Hub is cheaper than most of the competition and gets much more than just the basics right. Google has inadvertently leaked a product video recapping its entire event no more than 10 minutes before the launch is set to occur. Google announced the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, the Google Home Hub, the Google Pixel Slate, and a handful of other products today, and now we’re getting to see them in the flesh for the very first time. Here’s your first rough look at all these products straight from Made by Google 2018 in New York City. Amid a series of hardware unveils at 10/9, Google announced several new features for Assistant. The Home View dashboard launched on the Google Home Hub and made its way to other Smart Displays, along with Digital Wellbeing.

You can also get a summary of the smart devices in your home when you swipe down from the top of the screen. The Home Hub will also act as a viewer for Nest video doorbells and cameras, but it doesn’t work with other brands at this time. The original Google Home speaker released in November 2016 featured a cylindrical shape with colored status LEDs on top. In October 2017, Google announced two additions to the product lineup, the miniature puck-shaped Google Home Mini and a larger Google Home Max.