Google Nest Hub 2 Smart Home Assistant (Charcoal, GA01892)

Great product. Already had some for elderly family members, and bought another two for the household.Their main purpose for us is as sleep trackers. If you want them for that function, then they'll be placed on your bedside table facing the bed. They're very good at their role. Far better at sleep tracking than the Amazfit smartwatch I had in 2018. It will record coughing, snoring, breathing rate, light changes, deep sleep and REM sleep, etc. It all integrates with Google Fit.They also do double duty as Google speakers for our smart house network, control wake up and bed time routines, and play the news onscreen in the morning.I only bought these for the sleep tracking. They're perfectly adequate for monitoring our Google Cameras and interfacing with the ... MoreGreat product. Already had some for elderly family members, and bought another two for the household.Their main purpose for us is as sleep trackers. If you want them for that function, then they'll be placed on your bedside table facing the bed. They're very good at their role. Far better at sleep tracking than the Amazfit smartwatch I had in 2018. It will record coughing, snoring, breathing rate, light changes, deep sleep and REM sleep, etc. It all integrates with Google Fit.They also do double duty as Google speakers for our smart house network, control wake up and bed time routines, and play the news onscreen in the morning.I only bought these for the sleep tracking. They're perfectly adequate for monitoring our Google Cameras and interfacing with the Google smart home ecosystem, but without the sleep tracking I'd have only bought one. With sleep tracking, I've bought one for everyone in the household and they're used constantly. It's sparked many discussions about our sleep patterns and habits.Fair warning: In 2022, Google said that Sleep Tracking would be a paid subscription feature in 2023. As soon as the new year ticked over, they pushed it back to 2024. Maybe they'll push it back another year on the next new year. All you can rely on though, is that the sleep tracking will remain free to the end of 2023.2024's sleep tracking is yet to be determined.

David's review of Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) Smart Display with Google Assistant - Chalk

Pros: Screen looks nice. Voice control works with smart lights.Cons: Touch screen is terribly unresponsive by today's standards. Very unintuitive to set up properly so I gave up.As an example of its logic, at one point it only lets you get to a setting by using voice control but then only lets you choose the following option using touch control. As it's also sluggish in operation you can easily hit the wrong touch button and then there's no option to go back. So you have to start again with a completely illogical sequence.Hence the following examples of things I don't like, may be due to not having been set up properly.Anyway, it only reads my main Google calendar not my sub or associated calenders, which makes it useless to check my agenda.I can't set up the ... MorePros: Screen looks nice. Voice control works with smart lights.Cons: Touch screen is terribly unresponsive by today's standards. Very unintuitive to set up properly so I gave up.As an example of its logic, at one point it only lets you get to a setting by using voice control but then only lets you choose the following option using touch control. As it's also sluggish in operation you can easily hit the wrong touch button and then there's no option to go back. So you have to start again with a completely illogical sequence.Hence the following examples of things I don't like, may be due to not having been set up properly.Anyway, it only reads my main Google calendar not my sub or associated calenders, which makes it useless to check my agenda.I can't set up the screen to show exactly what I want e.g. agenda on one half, notifications on the other.I can't show photos from my local server only those that are stored on Google Photos. I can only show a single Google Photo album album as a screen saver not all my Google photos.The voice commands are not intuitive so you'll have to memorize any you want to use. In other words it will only be useful if you intend to use the voice commands frequently enough to remember them.The automated routines (morning, evening, etc) are another example of big tech companies thinking they know what we want to do better than we know.Mine nearly went into the bin after several hours of trying to get it to do anything useful. I've kept it but only ever use it to turn my smart lights on and off.

Do not buy this.

The Google Nest Home Max is by far the most worthless home efficiency tool you can buy. It does have the ability to make video and audio calls, but then so does your phone. It also has the ability to help answer questions you may have: “Hey Google, how many cups in a quart?” but then so does a Google Home Mini that you can buy for $40($20 from most Facebook marketplace sales).What it does not have is any functionality that you would want in a standing hub system. It has no way of showing a monthly family calendar so you can see what’s going on or plan-ahead. It has no way of creating a user-friendly chore or task-list so you can be more efficient with your day. It also doesn’t work on new network router systems, so you have to be a little network savvy and ensure ... MoreThe Google Nest Home Max is by far the most worthless home efficiency tool you can buy. It does have the ability to make video and audio calls, but then so does your phone. It also has the ability to help answer questions you may have: “Hey Google, how many cups in a quart?” but then so does a Google Home Mini that you can buy for $40($20 from most Facebook marketplace sales).What it does not have is any functionality that you would want in a standing hub system. It has no way of showing a monthly family calendar so you can see what’s going on or plan-ahead. It has no way of creating a user-friendly chore or task-list so you can be more efficient with your day. It also doesn’t work on new network router systems, so you have to be a little network savvy and ensure you disable IPv6 in multiple settings of your router in order for it to actually work in the first place.Finally, while you’re trying to troubleshoot and fix all the issues with your Google Nest Hub Max system your short return window is slowly dwindling down, and working with their customer support is similar to working with a movie stereotyped version of the Department of Motor Vehicles (no offense DMV, you’ve been good to me). Once you get sent back and forth between two different departments under the guise of trying to help you, you’ll eventually give up. You will be the new proud owner of the worlds bulkiest, non-wireless, least versatile tablet in the world.Run away, don’t buy this product, good luck.

Good for the price

I have several of these which I have purchased on sale. Everytime they're on sale, they are amazingly affordable. Quality wise, it's fairly decent considering it's a Google product. The device OS/software doesn't feel as smart as one would hope. There are many times it doesn't understand me or that it interprets the incorrect word. The app feels outdated and not organized. I have added and removed smart items and for some reason they still remain on the app. If they happen to (actually) remove from the APP, it still appears to live somewhere since using voice control does not reflect the change, for example, I once controlled my dining lights with two smart plugs, then I switched to smart bulbs and removed the plugs, but when I ask to turn off all lights in that ... MoreI have several of these which I have purchased on sale. Everytime they're on sale, they are amazingly affordable. Quality wise, it's fairly decent considering it's a Google product. The device OS/software doesn't feel as smart as one would hope. There are many times it doesn't understand me or that it interprets the incorrect word. The app feels outdated and not organized. I have added and removed smart items and for some reason they still remain on the app. If they happen to (actually) remove from the APP, it still appears to live somewhere since using voice control does not reflect the change, for example, I once controlled my dining lights with two smart plugs, then I switched to smart bulbs and removed the plugs, but when I ask to turn off all lights in that room, it tells me "turning off 4 lights" even though I only have two smart devices in that room. I also often have to repeat a request. I have begun switching to Alexa products, because my Google products stopped connecting to my Wyze products. I'm not sure if this is a Wyze issue (which I wouldn't doubt) or a Google one. I just assumed that there was a reason the Google products were so affordable. We all know the saying "you get what you pay for." All that to say, I still recommend as an affordable smart home hub/system. When it works, it works well, but when it doesn't work, it can be very frustrating. I'lll leave you with two more points, it is smart to recognize who is speaking to it (if you have a household) which is convenient when asking to play music (it knows what account to select). If using to view cameras, it takes a while to load and has sort of a buffer/lag.

Google needs to fix their firmware.........

I have approximately three of these, I like the screen and the ability to play my security camera output over them (wifi cameras). The price for these was much higher, fifty is about right if you ask me. For the first few years I had my network this worked flawlessly but recently google lost a patent infringement lawsuit over their speaker functions and has had to disable those functions in everything. Google is not doing a good job with those firmware updates on this device, several times a day the device gets very slow responding, stops responding, claims it can't access the internet or just gives constant "something went wrong" responses. It happens on all of these units that I have - I don't blame my router but I suppose it could be part of the issue. I'm hoping ... MoreI have approximately three of these, I like the screen and the ability to play my security camera output over them (wifi cameras). The price for these was much higher, fifty is about right if you ask me. For the first few years I had my network this worked flawlessly but recently google lost a patent infringement lawsuit over their speaker functions and has had to disable those functions in everything. Google is not doing a good job with those firmware updates on this device, several times a day the device gets very slow responding, stops responding, claims it can't access the internet or just gives constant "something went wrong" responses. It happens on all of these units that I have - I don't blame my router but I suppose it could be part of the issue. I'm hoping that google gets their heads out of the dark places and fixes all that but I think the customers are going to need to make more of an uproar because they don't seem to be in a hurry it's probably a huge job. For the moment, my lenovo smart clocks are pretty much running things in my house because they are not currently having the issues this unit is. I also have a couple of the google smart speakers which are also having issues for the same reason. If you are using a google pixel phone and find your google devices are complaining about updates but won't update then you need to run home from a non pixel device (I used an old samsung tablet) this is a current problem that google knows about but has not yet fixed thankfully it only happens with older devices that need a major update because they have not been online for a long period.

I am one misheard command away from yeeting this

It is astonishing that the google assistant AI is almost as stupid as Alexa and that is saying ALOT with how stupid Alexa is."Okay Google, Open youtube." Okay, i will open youtube on your TV on the other side of the house that isnt even on."Okay Google, play my custom playlist on Spotify" Okay, I will play this random playlist some idiot in Norway made on Youtube Music."Okay, google stop playing spotify." Okay, playing Dont Stop Me Now by Queen on Youtube Music."Okay, Google, call my girlfriend." Okay calling your shift supervisor at 2AM.I am so glad I bought this piece of junk on sale. Because the stress that both Google Home and Alexa adds to my already stressful day to day life is not worth it.If you need something to monitor your cameras, set alarms ... MoreIt is astonishing that the google assistant AI is almost as stupid as Alexa and that is saying ALOT with how stupid Alexa is."Okay Google, Open youtube." Okay, i will open youtube on your TV on the other side of the house that isnt even on."Okay Google, play my custom playlist on Spotify" Okay, I will play this random playlist some idiot in Norway made on Youtube Music."Okay, google stop playing spotify." Okay, playing Dont Stop Me Now by Queen on Youtube Music."Okay, Google, call my girlfriend." Okay calling your shift supervisor at 2AM.I am so glad I bought this piece of junk on sale. Because the stress that both Google Home and Alexa adds to my already stressful day to day life is not worth it.If you need something to monitor your cameras, set alarms and reminders, turn off lights and lock doors or if for some god forsaken reason you want to use Google's god awful Youtube Music instead of Spotify like a normal civilized person. This is for you.If you want something dependable that isn't going to drive you over the edge of your already crippling stressful life or if you have unresolved anger issues that could be set off by a minor inconvenience. Hire a personal assistant or just do it yourself.I'll be waiting for a third party that isnt Amazon or Google to develop a Virtual Assistant AI that doesn't make me want to throw it across the room and then drive my car into a river. Cheers. But not to Google.

Lines on screen!

The Nest hub is an excellent way to control all your smart home devices. Its definitely way better than Siri when it comes to understand commands and compatibility with products. The screen size is ok. I would recommend going for the bigger Hub Max, but the price of this one vs. the Max is significant. You can usually catch these on sale for $49. While the Hub Max lowest price I’ve seen is $150. The touchscreen is very responsive and the speakers work fine, just don’t expect it to have audio like an Apple Homepod mini.I have been using three of these around my house for over a year. Two are working fine and one already has the screen failing. There are color lines through the LCD screen that have made it difficult to see whats on the screen. Although, it still ... MoreThe Nest hub is an excellent way to control all your smart home devices. Its definitely way better than Siri when it comes to understand commands and compatibility with products. The screen size is ok. I would recommend going for the bigger Hub Max, but the price of this one vs. the Max is significant. You can usually catch these on sale for $49. While the Hub Max lowest price I’ve seen is $150. The touchscreen is very responsive and the speakers work fine, just don’t expect it to have audio like an Apple Homepod mini.I have been using three of these around my house for over a year. Two are working fine and one already has the screen failing. There are color lines through the LCD screen that have made it difficult to see whats on the screen. Although, it still works and responds to commands, the screen is definitely an issue. I have these hubs synced with google cams all around the house and I enjoy being able to see my front door and all my Google Cams with a command. I usually find myself using it with my Nest Thermostat as well, and use it as my daily alarm clock.The overall quality for what you pay is fine. I know my screen is now broken, but for $49 Im not going to complain. I will mention that I never used the touchscreen on the hub that has the LCD screen broken. I barely even used that hub so I would have expected a much longer life expectancy. If Apple had a LCD screen I would be all over it, and would pay the premium. But im not going to pay the premium on a Google Hub. There just isn’t many options out there for a smart hub with a screen except for Alexa products and Google for the most part.

Nest Hub 7”: A Top-Performing Smart Display

The Nest Hub 7” Smart Display with Google Assistant (2nd Gen) in Chalk is an excellent addition to any smart home setup. The display is bright, clear and sharp, providing an excellent viewing experience. The 7-inch size is perfect for displaying information, photos or videos and also functions well as a digital picture frame.Google Assistant is integrated seamlessly into the device, providing quick and easy access to information, as well as the ability to control other smart devices in your home. The integration with Google Photos also allows for a slideshow of your personal photos, adding a personal touch to your home.The device's compact design make it an ideal choice for those with limited space. The built-in speaker is clear and provides decent sound ... MoreThe Nest Hub 7” Smart Display with Google Assistant (2nd Gen) in Chalk is an excellent addition to any smart home setup. The display is bright, clear and sharp, providing an excellent viewing experience. The 7-inch size is perfect for displaying information, photos or videos and also functions well as a digital picture frame.Google Assistant is integrated seamlessly into the device, providing quick and easy access to information, as well as the ability to control other smart devices in your home. The integration with Google Photos also allows for a slideshow of your personal photos, adding a personal touch to your home.The device's compact design make it an ideal choice for those with limited space. The built-in speaker is clear and provides decent sound quality, although it may not replace a dedicated speaker system.Overall, the Nest Hub 7” Smart Display with Google Assistant (2nd Gen) is a great choice for those looking for a compact, easy-to-use smart display that is integrated with Google Assistant. The chalk color also adds a stylish touch to your home decor.

Seems to work well, nothing to complain about really

I bought this to replace my previous "Home" device. It had been playing up and was out of warranty. This was on offer and why I purchased.Overall it's a good device. Small screen but you see what you pay for before you pay for it in most cases; they're not trying to hide anything. The resolution is pretty decent, and it does allow you to watch things on Youtube from your account (I've not tried it across non Google services).The speaker will pick up the words as you're asking them and they appear on the screen so you can see if it's misunderstood why/what it mis heard. It does seem to have an improved microphone though as the Home device I had which was first gen would regularly not understand what I'd said even if it was the same instruction (eg; what's the ... MoreI bought this to replace my previous "Home" device. It had been playing up and was out of warranty. This was on offer and why I purchased.Overall it's a good device. Small screen but you see what you pay for before you pay for it in most cases; they're not trying to hide anything. The resolution is pretty decent, and it does allow you to watch things on Youtube from your account (I've not tried it across non Google services).The speaker will pick up the words as you're asking them and they appear on the screen so you can see if it's misunderstood why/what it mis heard. It does seem to have an improved microphone though as the Home device I had which was first gen would regularly not understand what I'd said even if it was the same instruction (eg; what's the weather/play whatever radio station or so on). It apparently can make calls, but I've not tested this. It's a small screen if you do, but far larger than a phone!The screen itself you can flick from left to right to see other things.On the screen, I actually really appreciate the adaptive brightness it has which seems to work in reverse of a phone. On the Nest it actually gets dimmer with it's surroundings; so if you turn out the lights it dims right down which would make it suitable for a bedroom, though it never completely goes off so will always show the time. I've no idea if this can be changed or not as I've not seen any need to try.Will play Spotify and also Apple Music! It does require you to use the app to change which service you want to set your preference to though. I have still been able to play things from Spotify even though I've already set mine to play from Apple Music. As long as you say where to play from, it seems to work.

This is unnecessarily worthless in so many ways

I bought two of these to manage reminders for the kids. They promote a feature called Family Bell so that kids can check off their chores. Unfortunately, this service doesn't work in real world scenarios. There are only two multi step checklists that can be triggered. Why they would do this makes zero sense. They built the capability, but limit it so much that it is useless.Therefore, I cannot have a different checklist for our four kids. In addition, the two checklists can only have 8 steps which means I can even efficiently add one checklist with a bunch of steps for all of the kids.So, I then tried to use reminders that I assign to family members of the home. I see a video of someone using a nest hub to assign reminders to members of the family... Maybe ... MoreI bought two of these to manage reminders for the kids. They promote a feature called Family Bell so that kids can check off their chores. Unfortunately, this service doesn't work in real world scenarios. There are only two multi step checklists that can be triggered. Why they would do this makes zero sense. They built the capability, but limit it so much that it is useless.Therefore, I cannot have a different checklist for our four kids. In addition, the two checklists can only have 8 steps which means I can even efficiently add one checklist with a bunch of steps for all of the kids.So, I then tried to use reminders that I assign to family members of the home. I see a video of someone using a nest hub to assign reminders to members of the family... Maybe that will work. After setting up all of the family members which is the most confusing setup possible, the nest hub says it cannot assign reminders. I look in the assistant settings and assignable reminders are an option, but they no longer work.It turns out that Google stopped supporting assume reminders earlier this year. So basically, this is completely incapable of doing what it has advertised.Also, it is important to point out that almost no Android apps can be installed on this thing so it is pretty much a worthless paper weight.