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Nest Hubs will use ultrasonic sensing to display reminders and appointments
Last month Google updated the Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max so that they could use ultrasonic sensing to tell when a person is nearby. While the Hub Max includes a camera that it could already use to surface Proactive Notifications when people are around, the original Hub doesn't have one at all. By sending out a high frequency chirp and listening to the echoes on embedded microphones, the smart displays can detect a person-sized object in the room without pulling in a video feed. In a new blog post, a team member explained more about how the technology works, and that it changes the available information based on distance. When someone's further away, it features larger text, as they move closer it can shift to include more details and touch controls. So far the technology has been used for timers, commute times and weather, but over the next week an update will add "reminders, appointments and alerts."
Users share what makes the Google Nest Hub great
It took senior editor Nicole Lee a bit of time to figure out where the Google Nest Hub (originally the Google Home Hub) fit into her life because it seemed too small to be used like a typical home assistant device. At a mere 7 inches, the smart display is meant to be a personal assistant for any room of the house. Because the Nest Hub lacks a camera, it's even good for the bedroom. Once Nicole started using the Nest Hub like a digital photo frame, albeit one with the smarts to control home automated devices that can also use Google apps, she began to see the strengths of this discreet commected display. In the end, she granted the Nest Hub a commendable score of 87. User reviewers, who always tend to score more harshly, gave the Nest Hub a passable score of 72. Here's where they differed, or agreed with Nicole, on the product's successes and shortcomings.
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eBay offers Prime Day discounts even if Amazon doesn’t crash
eBay doesn't want Amazon to get all of the spotlight during Prime Day 2019, and it's taking a dig at the glitch that interrupted the consumer holiday last year to offer a Crash Sale. If Amazon goes down, eBay will release a flood of "too-good-to-be-true" deals. But you don't have to wait around for an Amazon fail to score deals on eBay. Beginning at 8am PT today, eBay is offering savings like $2,000 off an LG OLED 65-inch 4K Smart TV.
Google Nest Hub Max hands-on: A bigger, smarter display
I was surprised by how much I liked last year's Google Home Hub. The 7-inch smart display won me over with its beautiful screen and adorable design. It was also popular with other reviewers, who praised its clever Assistant features, affordable price and Photos integration. This year, Google has a bigger, more powerful model: the Nest Hub Max. Unveiled at the company's I/O developer conference today, the Hub Max is a 10-inch display that looks like a stretched-out Home Hub. But there are a few other differences besides the size that make it more useful than the smaller version.
Google Assistant will soon be more conversational on smart displays
Google is rolling out "continued conversation" to smart displays over the next few days, the company has confirmed to Android Central. The tech giant launched the feature for smart speakers last year in an effort to make conversations with Assistant feel more natural. It gives you a way to ask the voice AI follow-up questions without having to say "Hey, Google" over and over again. Now, that capability is coming to all Assistant-powered smart displays in the US set to English, including Google Home Hub and Lenovo Smart Clock.
