Google Nest Hub is now available in Singapore. We gave it a try at home to see if it’s something that helps families in their day-to-day lives. Here are some of the features on the Google Nest Hub that we absolutely like.
Google Nest Hub
If you already have a Google Home or Home Mini, this is the upgraded version that comes with a screen to give you the Google Assistant help at a glance.
With a 7″ screen, it acts as a personal command centre for the home and brings you all the hands-free help you need to get things done there.
The device—which comes in two colours: Charcoal and Chalk—is currently retailing at S$189 in Singapore. If you need some justification on why you should purchase this device, here are some points that might help:
Get help at a glance
Parents, you get it. Some days, mornings can be a little to be busy especially with kids around. From the moment you wake until you leave your home for work, there are so many things that need to be done in-between—usually in a very short amount of time. While your phone might be able to help you get your mind ready and set for the day, with the kids needing to be fed and dressed up for school, you might not have that much freedom to fiddle on your phone to check what you have in the day ahead of you.
Here’s where the Google Nest Hub can help.
Mornings can now be smooth-sailing with the help of Google Nest Hub. |(Image source: Google)
With a simple command “Hey Google, Good morning,” you can have a rundown of your schedule, your commute, how the weather is going to be throughout the day, some news you might be interested in and many more. With the help of Google Assistant and some preferential settings through Voice Match—which allows the device to distinguish up to six different users—you can get personalised scheduled and information provided specifically for you. How’s that to help start your morning?
Not just another screen
As parents, you love showcasing your kids’ achievements: from their first bicycle ride without the training wheels to their first violin recital, we are proud to share about them—pictures and all.
Now, you don’t have to hang so many pictures and frames or change the photos in them time and again to showcase your family’s wonderful moments without the uploading hassle.
With the Google Nest Hub, you can use Google Photos with Live Albums to turn its screen into a digital frame. And thanks to Google’s face detection technology, you can set the Nest Hub to show only photos containing specific people, such as your family members. Their latest photos are automatically added into the slideshow that plays when the device goes idle.
Your Google Nest Hub can also serve as a digital photo frame that showcases the best photos of your family. | (Image source: Google)
In-laws coming? You can give the Nest Hub simple instructions like “Hey Google, show pictures from Cadey’s violin recital. It will automatically show photos from that milestone event.
Hands-free help that does the show-and-tell
If you’re like me, you’ve probably seen hundreds of cooking videos on your phone or on TV and thought to yourself, “I can do that.” But when looking at the recipe you printed before getting started, you think “how do you do that?”
With the Google Nest Hub, the next time you cook will no longer be looking at recipes, searching manually on the internet how to do a certain knife technique and setting timers—all of these, you can do completely hands-free.
The device gives you access to millions of recipes, how-to videos, and can give you step-by-step directions, set timers and measurement conversions with simple voice commands. It’s like having a digital sous chef that will help you from simple tutorials on how to julienne onions, to whipping up great dinners for the whole family.
Hands-free help in the Kitchen? Yes, please. | (L to R) Google Nest Hub and Google Wifi (Image source: theAsianparent)
But it’s not just recipes that Google Nest Hub allows you to gain access to. You can also enjoy Youtube’s video catalogue directly on this device. And with Voice Match, you can view Youtube recommendations tailored specifically for you.
The device also comes with Filters which allow you to control your household’s experience by restricting access to music with explicit lyrics, limit videos those that are safe for children, and more.
Google Nest Hub allows you to access Youtube directly on the device. Now you and your kids can sing-along to their favourite nursery rhymes together. | (Image source: theAsianparent)
View and control your home with Home View on the Google Nest Hub
With Google Nest Hub’s Home View, you no longer have to manage your smart home using multiple apps. The device allows you to see and control all of your smart home devices in one place.
With over 200 million smart home connected devices from over 3,500 brands around the world (which means your Mi devices, Daikin air conditioners and LG smart home appliances), you can control your home with your voice or via the Home View on the device, too.
Home View allows you to see and control compatible smart devices on the Nest Hub | (Image source: Google)
Not sure if you turned off the bedroom lights? Check it on your Google Nest Hub’s home view and turn it off with a simple command like: “Hey Google, turn off lights in the bedroom.”
And now, you can have peace of mind and monitor your home with the help of Google Home App which is available on both Android and iOS. The app helps you control your connected home by allowing you to monitor and manage devices such as lights, cameras, TVs, speakers and more.
Boundaries that puts you at ease
The Google Nest Hub also comes with the Ambient EQ light sensors which adjust the device display light to match the colours and lighting in its environment. This means you don’t have to worry about blinding bright screens at night.
And speaking of the night—the Nest Hub’s can also help set up the mood when you’re getting ready for bed. Simply say “Hey Google, goodnight”, and it will help set your alarms, turn off the lights. And if you have the device in your nightstand, you can even get it to play soothing music or read you an audiobook before you fall asleep.
But don’t worry, if you’re worried about your privacy in the bedroom, Google Nest Hub does not have a built-in camera. Therefore, you can safely put it on your bedside table without being worried about being spied on!
Lastly, you have the control to stop the device giving you notifications (apart from alarms and emergency alerts) when you set it to Downtime. This will also stop the device from responding to commands and questions when activated.
If your are buying or have already bought the new Google Nest Hub, tell us by voting on this poll!