The battle for smart ecosystem supremacy has kicked hardware performance forward immensely in the last two or three years. Screens, when present, are bigger and exploit their touch and tell capabilities to a greater degree. Sound quality has improved markedly. The second generation of Google Nest Hub represents a huge improvement in the latter, a little buff in the former and adds one particularly interesting feature.
Fixed Form
Google Nest 2nd Generation is visually identical to its predecessor. Save for a different colour of footpad and minor changes to the curved corners of the devices, a user won’t see any upgrade. The form of the original was close to perfect for its purpose and we feel that not changing it for the sake of change was a good choice.
From a visual aspect, there are no practical improvements – the screen type and size are the same. The same 7″ 1,024 x 600 LCD screen that was good enough for its purpose first time around is still good enough on Google Nest 2nd Generation.
The footprint is modest for such a large screen – one of the design’s advantages over its competitors. Any changes to the dimensions of the device would take away from its canny ability to squeeze in anywhere.
The muted look suits the goal of normalising smart home technology. Nest Hub almost blends into background, even when displaying the time or weather. Indeed, by not changing the design, users upgrading directly from a first gen. device won’t have a new device grabbing the eye, allowing their new tech to fade into the background all the quicker.
Google’s choice of familiarity in this respect also highlights how significant the unseen benefits of the new device are.
Be Realistic and Be Impressed
Despite the small size of Google Nest Hub 2nd Generation, it can output an impressive din. Music sounds simultaneously deeper and more clear than before. The frequency floor is lower, there is a space in the middle and high end for decent instrument resolution.
We are not entirely sure if it’s better audio processing or a hardware upgrade to the drivers but Nest Hub 2nd Gen.’s audio output is an upgrade in every auditory measure. While it has that distinct ‘missing fundamental’ sound in the low-end, it’s a much more musical sound than the first gen. device. Google Nest Hub 2nd Generation won’t beat a a dedicated music hub with its much larger drivers but it’s much closer than it should be.
Google Nest Hub 2nd Generation handles high volumes or full spectrum blasts with much more clarity and much less distortion than the previous model. While we still get a muddy sound with heavy bass or extreme volumes, it’s a huge leap forward.
The added clarity and lower distortion at higher volumes allow it to fill a room without fatiguing listeners. It’s also much easier to understand spoken word at all volumes. Considering podcasts, how-to guides and recipes are common uses of smart speakers, this boost to comprehensibility is quite useful.
Motion Sensor Utility
Like Google Nest Hub Max, Nest Hub 2nd Gen. features front-facing motion sensors. In the kitchen (or anywhere where your hands may be wet or dirty), the gesture system is a godsend. Tapping the space to pause a video or flailing a recipe page forward are obvious scenarios that such an ability excels in.
However, Google Nest Hub 2nd Generation also uses these sensors to measure a user’s sleep. Hub mostly just picks up when a person is completely still. The device can also detect coughing and snoring as well as ambient light and sound to add data to your rest research.
To aid the paranoid with their night’s sleep, Google are keen to point out that sleep tracking audio processing is done completely in the box. That is, no sound is sent to the cloud.
You’ll need to have your Nest Hub 2nd Gen. device facing your pillow within around one metre at roughly the same height. It’s unobtrusive but a little inaccurate, usually overstating time slept. But crucially it allows users to take off their watch at night and still keep an eye on their sleep quality.
Fitting In
Google Nest Hubs and other screened smart hubs tend to be used in kitchens or offices. Their added abilities lend themselves to the these settings as do the size of the devices – you need to be sitting or standing close to that 7″ inch screen to actually see it. Sleep Sensing is an effort by Google to make Nest Hub common somewhere else via a familiar tool.
Sleep Sensing may be subject to a subscription fee when it’s incorporated in the FitBit ecosystem at a later date. Details are vague with Google stating that they are offering a “preview of Sleep Sensing for free until next year”.
Out of the Box
There are no major changes beyond hardware. The underlying Cast OS supports the same apps in the same UI across Nest Hubs. Netflix, YouTube, Spotify and the usual suspects are available to watch or listen on the device.
Compatibility with ‘Interwebs of Stuff’ devices is broad and the touchscreen interface makes monitoring what needs monitoring an easy task. The same can be said of making amendments lighting or heating conditions. The layout of networked device info and quick change options across the home screens swipe-able panels is intuitive and uncluttered.
Smart Upgrade
Those invested in the ecosystem, seeking continuity and better sound are served well by Google Nest Hub 2nd Generation. There are other pluses to the package. The device is priced right – thirty euros or so less than the previous model at its release. Sleep Sensing is a worthy feature that will put a few Hubs next to a few beds. At least, while it’s free.
But that uncertainty over the Sleep Sense subscription fee will delay or cancel a few purchases. While its understandable that Google want to see if they can offer enough to customers to warrant a fee where all others do not, the lack of clarity is worse than setting a fee that you can amend or even waive at a later date.
Review unit provided by PR
