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Google Nest Hub
87
Engadget Review
Google’s Home Hub is unlike most other smart displays on the market. With its small size and soft fabric exterior, the Home Hub is well-suited for nearly every room in your house. The notable absence of a camera helps alleviate privacy concerns, which makes it ideal for personal spaces like the bedroom. The display is colorful, sharp and there’s an intelligent light sensor that’ll dim and adjust it appropriately depending on the surroundings. Combine that with Google Assistant smarts and an affordable price point, and the Home Hub is a highly compelling choice for a smart display.
Attention to privacy goes a long way.
Nicole LeeOctober 22, 2018
Pros
- No camera
- Beautiful display
- Simple minimalist design
- Affordable compared to the competition
Cons
- Might be too small for some
- Sound quality is just OK
Google
Nest Hub
Engadget
87
Critics - Not yet scored
N/A
AVERAGE CRITIC SCORE
Users
14 reviews72
AVERAGE USER SCORE
View All Critic & User Reviews
Google Nest Hub
- User Reviews (14)
- 72AVERAGE USER SCORE14 ReviewsKris40September 10, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!A poor product that's more likely to be frustrating than useful. - EngadgetBrendt90July 29, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Great addition to kitchen/bedroomKevin80July 29, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I'm starting to venture into very Google-integrated territory, with my Chromecasts and Google Home speakers throughout almost every room of my house. I love it. So I got the Nest Hub when it went on sale last month for my bedroom. I figure the kitchen will get a Nest Hub Max in the future, so this little camera-less one will be a nice control unit from bed. Almost everything I used to do with my bedroom Home Mini is improved with the addition of the screen. Netflix cast to my tv now has playback controls without shouting 'Hey Google'. The morning weather, calendar, and news now have visual elements that delve deeper and make everything clearer. I now have the full Google Home mission control without launching an app. I have Google Photos highlights from my phone flipping through with a color tone that matches the lighting in the room (this works really well). One thing, though, is worse. With just a speaker, I could easily say 'Hey Google, watch The Office' and my Mini would know that since the bedroom TV is it's default video playback, that's where I wanted to watch Michael Scott's awkward attempts as regional manager. But now that my Google device has a screen, you can't set a default Chromecast for video playback. This means when I use the same command, it starts playing Netflix on it's tiny screen instead. It makes the evenings Netflix order much more wordy to include which device I want to play on. Other than that, I love it!Richard70July 29, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I've had my Google Nest Hub since release (as Home Hub) and it's lived in our kitchen ever since. The hub is a great way of listening to music, podcasts watching YouTube or even reading a recipe while you cook so that room has remained the best place for it.Looks-wise it's pretty sleek and doesn't look like the monolithic block that Amazon went with for the Alexa so blends in a little better. For music the speakers are just fine, probably lack a bit in base but if you just want sound in a room it's the best place for it. With Google podcast it's quite nice to hand off between your phone and the hub and vice-versa with it remembering where you left off. As for the screen watching YouTube is OK, the pixel density is not high on this screen but as you generally won't be viewing it as closely as you would a phone or tablet it's not actually that big an issue.In terms of compatibility it's pretty good all round with basically anything that works with other Google home devices like Philips Hue working easily and any video/music working in exactly the same way as Chromecast which for me includes one frustration which ultimately isn't Google's fault. Audible, it still doesn't support Chromecast (because, Amazon) which is frustrating.Usability is generally good, Google are updating the UI overtime and in its latest version controlling your home lights etc is really quite nice. Its star party trick is the recipes feature, which allows you to ask Google for a recipe, it returns a selection of sources and then you pick the one you want. From there the hub will list ingredients and steps which you can control entirely with your voice, which makes for a much more hygienic replacement for using your phone, table or laptop.There are a few things missing, the Home Hub does not have a built in webcam but, I actually prefer this and makes it more a more privacy friendly device to have in bedrooms but limits your ability to use hangouts. App integration is also not as good as Alexa and there's no real equivalent to the skills. Managing that the selection is also not a great experience so it's less clear what is setup and what isn't.All in all the Nest Home Hub is a solid product which over time will improve.bxstrb80July 26, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!This has recently been on sale as low as $59 to $79. Completely worth it at that price. + The screen is better than my Echo Show when adjusting to ambient light throughout the day. The UI is also better than the Show especially for smart home device control (i.e. lights etc) + I love the random beautiful artwork it pulls from online. The show doesn't seem to have an option like that other than pulling photos from your own library. + I like that it has no camera which is better for the bedroom if you worry about privacy+ Voice recognition is pretty good picking me up from across the room even when the TV is on.- Screen is way too small. A screen this good would thrive with a bigger size. They're coming out with a larger screen version but it will be $229 (same price as the Show)- I've noticed when controlling lights by voice that it has a slight lag compared to the Echo after you issue the command.- The bezels around the device are huge but that's more of an aesthetic preference on my end.CONCLUSION: If you find this on sale, buy it. I think it's an even better buy than the Echo Show 5 which has an even smaller screen.Ja100July 25, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I wrote a long review and it was lost during registration -.-In short. AwesomeRoy80July 25, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!It's mainly a digital photo frame with a Google Home built in. And it is a fantastic digital photo frame. The display changes brightness with changes in the ambient light, and looks like an actual photo frame. Tied to Google Photos it's perfect. The display also gives some more info when asking about the weather, shows routes on google maps, etc. And the video news briefing is nice for in the morning or evening. But it's still a Google Home at it's core, nothing new, does everything it supposed to do. The only minus is the not so great sound quality for listening to music.Gibhunter30July 25, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Its a mix.. the interface is too limited to be usable.. I am constantly having to cast to it to watch video while doing dishes.. because 1. no netflix support built in, 2. It will not show my youtube channels recommendations 3. what it offers to watch is boring/dates material most times. Sound quality is poor, and often not loud enough for videos that are quiet.Its frustrating that several google home features were stripped too.. the differences between android auto's assistant, google home's version, google home hub, the phones version are really annoying... it should be the same assistant across the board.. but obviously the screen adds some ability. Its a lot less useful than expected because its poor UI.Its really just a nice photo frame with a stripped down $25 google home mini built in.ssallen90July 25, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The screen on this thing looks fantastic. I primarily use it for an alarm clock/digital display/smart home automation. Managing the lights is a simple swipe away and allows me to turn off lights without waking my wife, unlike a voice only assistant. Works great for an alarm clock being able to easily snooze and set new alarms vocally. The "stop" command to shut off the alarm is just fantastic. I really only have 2 minor issues. The screen brightness drops so low when the lights are off that its not easy to see the time. I wish they would bump up the brightness even just 5-10%. The second complaint is that my dog keeps bumping the screen with his nose and I have have to wipe it off. I have no idea why my dog loves this screen so much as he has zero interest in any other tablet/TV/phone in the house.Chris90July 25, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The best in its category. We highly recommend it. - Engadgetcynic1350July 25, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The home automation interface is really awful, with too much whitespace and awkward, non-configurable organization. All devices are organized into rooms, but that doesn't match how I want to control things.Media control similarly is awkward, with Google Cast limitations but without the full Google Play Music or Play Movies interface. Audio quality is only mediocre - think Google Home MIni. And without a camera, you can't use it for video chats. I look forward to the Nest Hub Max but I regret buying this device. It's nicely made but doesn't come close to its potential. In my home it's essentially a combination of smart photo display and Google Home Mini.Hangman40July 25, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I use the Nest Hub as an alarm clock in my bedroom. It mostly works really well with a couple of exceptions:1. The microphones have trouble picking up voice commands. It will occasionally not respond to commands if I'm not directly speaking at it. For instance, it frequently will not respond if I'm lying in bed on my back, despite the Hub being only 2 ft away on my nightstand. 2. The display gets way too dim in dark rooms. As I said, I use this as an alarm clock and I'd like to be able to actually see the time in the dark. But the Hub automatically dims itself to the point where it is barely readable. You can adjust the brightness for when the Hub is active, but the light sensor automatically drops it back down to the lowest brightness setting once the Hub goes idle.TigerInCO90July 25, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!We've had the Google Home (Nest) Hub since the first time the price dropped below $100. Recently it's been seen on sale for less. Is it worth $129? Maybe. Is it worth $75? Definitely. It gets used daily in our house. Most of the time the answers provided could just as easily be returned from your smartphone, but normally we're yelling at it from the kitchen or dining room to check the weather, adjust the home theater volume, or set a timer or reminder. None of these actually require a display, but it is nice to get visual feedback. I would and do recommend this to everyone that is looking at home automation or just as a slight upgrade to a Google Home Mini.jpfeifer80July 25, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The display on this is excellent and likely its best selling point. The display and integration with google photos makes it hands down the best digital picture frame i've ever used. I initially bought one for my kitchen as I have a very small kitchen and the size is perfect for that scenario, but upon seeing how little light it emits when it goes into its low light mode I bought another to use as a smart alarm clock. The idea of having an always on screen next to my bed seemed like a bad idea to me, but the light from this thing is less intrusive than most alarm clocks i've used. Using it in the bedroom definitely makes the lack of a camera a plus as well. Having a camera in my bedroom has always felt... unsettling... to me.The cons of the nest hub are probably not a surprise for anyone. For me personally I have a huge audible library and not being able to use it on google assistant has always been annoying. While there isn't really anything google can do about this, it does prevent me from using the device for something I listen to every day. I could cast my audio from my phone to use it for that, but at that point I might as well just use my phone speaker. While the nest hub does sound much better than my phone, the audio quality isn't by any means stellar and listening to an audiobook is a situation I just don't really care about a moderate bump in sound quality. The other biggest cons for some people would be screen size and the lack of a camera, but for my uses I consider both of those things to be features.At full price the nest hub is something that is worth its money if you're in the market for a smart screen. With the frequent discounts it's something that you can't believe the value you're getting out of it for the price. The two I've bought I got for $50 and $70 and honestly wish I bought a couple more of them for that price.
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Key Specs
TYPE
Connected display
SCREEN SIZE
7in
SCREEN RESOLUTION
X
TOUCHSCREEN
Yes
INSTALLABLE APPS
Yes
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