Google Home Hub review: Google Assistant helps this tiny smart display feel powerful

Review

Google Home Hub review: Google Assistant helps this tiny smart display feel powerful

Ziya McKinley

February 5, 2020

Google Home Hub review: Google Assistant helps this tiny smart display feel powerful

Editors’ be aware, July 4, 2019: Despite robust new competitors from Amazon, the Google Nest Hub stays our favourite good show. As such, we have awarded it an Editors’ Choice. Note: The Nest Hub was previously known as the Google Home Hub earlier than a branding change this spring. The evaluate initially revealed June 12 follows.The Google Nest Hub could also be small in dimension, however it’s surprisingly helpful in numerous methods, from organizing your good residence to strolling you thru a posh recipe, to discovering you a spot to eat in case your cooking efforts fall brief. The small gadget is made mighty by the good Google Assistant, and the road is blurry between the place the precise {hardware} of the Google Nest Hub shines and the place the digital Google Assistant does the entire heavy lifting. That differentiation may not matter on your shopping for determination. The Hub is a $129 (£119, AU$199) good show that mixes the performance of a voice-controlled good speaker like the unique Google Home with a touchscreen you should use to have a look at footage, watch movies, browse recipes, management your good residence and extra. Read extra: The greatest good shows of 2019If you are a fan of Google and need a Google-centric good residence, or for those who identical to the thought of a wise speaker with a display and wish to strive one out for displaying images at residence, or for the step-by-step recipe guides, I like to recommend the Google Nest Hub. The seamless contact controls and intuitive voice instructions will even assist the tech-phobic members of your loved ones get used to it. The differentiation between {hardware} and software program turns into way more essential for those who’re in a position to spend a bit extra and also you’re keen to think about third-party good shows alongside this Google-branded one. Google has a brand new, larger good show within the works known as the Nest Hub Max which can have a 10-inch display and a built-in Nest Cam with distinctive options like gesture management. Both Lenovo and JBL have recommendable 10-inch good shows with Google Assistant built-in and many of the identical options because the Nest Hub. Read extra: The greatest Google Assistant and Google Home gadgets of 2019In contrast to many of the different good shows,, the Nest Hub does not have a digital camera, which is likely to be a destructive for some, however privacy-minded people will recognize its absence. Otherwise, it provides all the identical options as the opposite good shows for an affordable value and it is typically on sale for even much less. The Google Nest Hub is a cute, helpful gadget at a pleasant worth.
Good issues in small packagesThe Google Nest Hub is tiny. It form of appears like Google caught a skinny, 7-inch pill onto a Google Home Mini. It’s easy — a display and a stand coated in cloth.It has two forward-facing microphones on a bezel surrounding the 7-inch display. The center dot between the mics is an ambient gentle sensor, not a digital camera. On the again of the Nest Hub you will discover a change that mutes the microphone and buttons for controlling the quantity, and that is it. If you wish to do anything with the Nest Hub, you will want to make use of its touchscreen or give it a voice command. View full gallery That’s an ambient gentle sensor, not a digital camera.
Chris Monroe/CNET
You can choose from 4 colours for the material — chalk, charcoal, aqua and sand. We examined the chalk mannequin, however all 4 colours are in any other case the identical and all price $129. You should buy the Google Nest Hub at Best Buy, Walmart, Target and different electronics retailers in addition to on-line by way of the Google Store. (See right here for the UK and Australia.)Google bundles a six-month trial of YouTube Premium with the acquisition of a Nest Hub. The service prices $12 (£12, AU$15) a month after the trial ends and means that you can hearken to YouTube’s music library with out adverts. Before you make a purchase order, be aware that the Nest Hub is commonly on sale for $100 or much less. View full gallery The 4 shade choices for the Google Nest Hub.
James Martin/CNET
An leisure hubYou do not want a subscription to observe peculiar YouTube movies on the Nest Hub. You can seek for them by voice and scroll by the choices together with your voice or with contact. YouTube offers the Google Nest Hub a bonus over the Amazon Echo Show. Google pulled the rights to the streaming website from Amazon’s competing good show over a dispute final yr. You can watch YouTube on the Echo Show, however solely by way of a browser, which does not reply to voice instructions.Videos additionally look surprisingly crisp on the petite 7-inch display. If you will have a subscription to YouTube’s dwell TV service — YouTube TV — you may watch dwell TV on the Hub as effectively. It actually will not exchange your major TV, however once more, the image appears good, so this characteristic might turn out to be useful if you wish to watch the information within the morning when you make breakfast.
Otherwise, you may watch streaming movies by providers equivalent to HBO Now and CNET’s sister website CBS All Access on the Hub itself. You cannot watch Netflix on the Hub but, however as with all of Google’s good audio system, you may subject a voice command to the Hub to start out streaming Netflix on any of your TVs with a Chromecast streamer or Chromecast built-in. You have loads of choices for listening to music on the Hub as effectively. Other than YouTube music, you may sync your account for Google Play Music, Pandora and Spotify. You may also set any of these providers as your default, so Google Assistant will search there first once you ask it to play a tune. Once you begin taking part in music, you should use the Google Home app to customise the speaker equalizer settings if you need a bit extra bass or treble. You may also add the Nest Hub to speaker teams with different Google Assistant good audio system or audio system linked to a Chromecast audio streamer. If you do not just like the sound high quality of the Nest Hub, you may as well set one other speaker as your default and it’ll robotically begin taking part in music on that system as a substitute of by its personal audio system.Smaller {hardware}, smaller soundView full gallery From left to proper, the Lenovo Smart Display, Google Nest Hub and JBL Link View.
Chris Monroe/CNET
You may not just like the sound high quality of the Nest Hub for those who’re an audiophile. It’s high quality if you wish to hearken to background music, however it’s not notably loud or crisp. Unfortunately, the sound high quality is not in the identical league as different good shows just like the Amazon Echo Show or the JBL Link View. In reality, the sound high quality is extra on par with Google’s smallest good speaker — the Google Home Mini, which even beat the Nest Hub barely in our assessments. Thankfully, the Hub’s microphones held up higher beneath scrutiny. The Nest Hub understood my voice instructions from throughout the big nice room of the CNET Smart Home. It even heard me from an adjoining room so long as I had the door open. It additionally fared effectively over background noise whereas I stood in the identical room. Expect to want to talk up for those who’re taking part in loud music, however that is normal for any good speaker. The second-generation Amazon Echo Show heard me extra typically from a larger distance, however the Hub’s mics are on par with these within the good shows from Lenovo and JBL. Smart show comparability

Google Nest Hub

Amazon Echo Show (2018)

Facebook Portal, Portal Plus

Lenovo Smart Display 10 inch, 8 inch

JBL Link View

US value

$130

$230

$200; $350

$250; $200

$250

Screen Size

7-inch (177.8 mm)

10.1-inch (256.5 mm)

10.1-inch (256.5 mm)/15.6-inch (396.2 mm)

10.1-inch (256.5 mm)/8-inch (203.2 mm)

8-inch (203.2 mm)

Resolution

1,024×600

720p (1,280×800)

720p (1,200×800); 1080p (1,920×1,080)

1080p (1,920×1,200); 720p (1,280×800)

720p (1,280×800)

Dimensions (WxHxD)

7.02×4.65×2.65 inches (179x118x67mm)

9.7×6.9×4.2 inches (246x175x107mm)

9.8×8.2×3.7 inches (250x208x94mm); 8.8×17.7×5.7 inches (224x450x145mm)

6.8×12.3×0.5-5.4 inches (173.87×311.37×13-136mm); 5.6×10.4×0.5-4.4 inches (142x263x13-111mm)

13x6x3.9 inches (332x152x100mm)

Weight

1.1 kilos (480 grams)

3.9 kilos (1.76 kg)

2.7 kilos (1.25 kg); 7.4 kilos (3.36 kg)

2.6 kilos (1.2 kg); 2.2 kilos (1 kg)

2.9 kilos (1.3 kg) internet weight

Wireless Connectivity

Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n/ac, 2.4GHz and 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.0

Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n/ac, 2.4GHz and 5GHz), Bluetooth audio system requiring PIN codes not supported

Wi‑Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4GHz and 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.2

Wi-Fi (802.11ac, 2.4GHz and 5GHz), Bluetooth

Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n/ac, 2.4GHz and 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.2

Voice Assistant

Google Assistant

Alexa

Google Assistant

Calling (from US) and messaging

Direct dial (US, UK and Canada, outgoing calls solely), video calls with Google Duo

Alexa Messaging, Skype, direct dial (US and Mexico)

Facebook Messenger

Direct dial (US, UK and Canada, outgoing calls solely), video calls with Google Duo

Smart kitchen options

Step-by-step recipe help with YouTube tutorial movies

Step-by-step recipe help; Amazon Meal Kits integration

Limited Alexa recipe help

Step-by-step recipe help with YouTube tutorial movies

Onscreen good residence controls

Yes

Built-in Camera

Yes (5-megapixel)

Yes (12-megapixel)

Yes (5-megapixel)

Privacy Shutter

n/a

Yes

Microphones

2-mic array

4-mic array

4-mic array (2 entrance, 2 rear)

2-mic array

Speakers

Full vary speaker (80 dB SPL @ 1KHz, @ 1m)

Dual 10W, 2-inch neodymium drivers with Dolby processing, passive bass radiator

10W (2 full-range drivers); 20W (2 tweeters, single 4-inch bass)

0.75 10W full vary speaker, 2x passive tweeters

2x 10W audio system with 2-inch (51 mm) full vary drivers

Streaming Music Services

iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify, YouTube Music

Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify, TuneIn

iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify

iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify, YouTube Music

Streaming Video Services

YouTube, YouTube TV, Google Play Movies, CBS All Access, HBO Now

Amazon Prime Video, DailyMotion, Hulu, NBC, Vimeo

Facebook Watch, Food Network

YouTube, YouTube TV, Google Play Movies, CBS All Access, HBO Now

Compatible good residence cameras

D-Link, EZVIZ, Nest Cam, Netgear Arlo, Skybell Video Doorbell, Smartcam, Swann, TP-Link Kasa Cam, Vivitar

Amazon Cloud Cam, Amcrest, August Doorbell Cam, Blink, Canary, D-Link, EZVIZ, Logitech Circle, meShare, Nest Cam, Netgear Arlo, Ring Video Doorbell, Toucan, TP-Link Kasa Cam, Wyze Cam, Zmodo

None

D-Link, EZVIZ, Nest Cam, Netgear Arlo, Skybell Video Doorbell, Smartcam, Swann, TP-Link Kasa Cam, Vivitar

Other notable options

Ambient EQ computerized adaptive display brightness; Digital image body by way of Google Photos with Live Albums; Live TV with YouTube TV; Digital Wellbeing mode for parental restrictions and downtime hours

Built-in Zigbee good residence hub; Integrates with Fire TV Recast to point out dwell TV and DVR recordings; YouTube entry by way of Silk or Firefox browsers

Automatic AI digital camera framing; Video chat filter results; Home and Away location monitoring; Facebook picture albums and birthday reminders; Interactive Story Time story books; 90-degree rotating show (Plus solely)

Live TV with YouTube TV; Digital Wellbeing mode for parental restrictions and downtime hours

Color choices

Charcoal, Aqua, Chalk, Sand

Charcoal, Sandstone

Black, White

Bamboo, Gray

Black

Availability

US, UK, Australia and 12 others

US, UK, Australia, Germany, Canada, Japan

US solely, launching within the UK this fall

US solely

Expected ship date

Available now

Warranty

1-year

A flexible private assistantYou can subject all kinds of voice instructions to the Google Nest Hub. Plug it in and set it up in your Wi-Fi utilizing the Google Home app, then, because of the built-in Google Assistant, you may ask Google Nest Hub any query you’d ask the unique Google Home.As we noticed on the Lenovo Smart Display and the JBL Link View, Google Assistant makes good use of the touchscreen with useful visuals after you ask a query. Check the climate, and you may see illustrations of the forecast for the week. Search for native eating places and you may see pics of close by locations. View full gallery You can use the Google Nest Hub to discover a place to eat.
Chris Monroe/CNET
You can then scroll by the choices and faucet one for more information. Google will even present you tips on how to get there on a map and ship the instructions to your telephone. This will work robotically if in case you have an Android telephone and it really works on Apple’s iPhones too, so long as you will have the Google Assistant app put in. You may also make calls with the Nest Hub. Since Google Assistant can acknowledge your particular person voice, it will possibly discover numbers out of your telephone’s checklist of contacts and dial. The recipient will even see that it is you calling. You could make video calls with the Hub too, however you are restricted to utilizing Google Duo — Google’s cell app for video chats. Since the Nest Hub does not have a digital camera, you can have a look at the recipient however they will not be capable to see you. You can at all times swipe proper on the display to return a web page, or swipe up for fast settings like quantity and brightness. You cannot obtain apps or browse the net as you would on an peculiar pill, however the entire content material of the Google Nest Hub is supposed to be seen from throughout the room. Other useful options embody routines, that are customizable grouped instructions that can help you play movies or podcasts, get instructions to work and switch in your linked lights with a easy command like “good morning.” If you management your good residence with a voice command, you will see your system pop up on the display. Change the temp of your thermostat, and you may see buttons and sliders to tweak the temp additional or change the mode. All of those options are the identical on the entire Google Assistant-equipped good shows, and my favourite characteristic of each the Lenovo Smart Display and the JBL Link View has made its manner intact to the Google Nest Hub. Search for a recipe by voice, or discover one in your telephone and ship it to your show. Google Assistant will learn the components and instructions out loud and you may see them listed on the display.