Google Nest Hub Review - 6 Months Later

We've had the Google Nest hub formerly known as the Google home hub for a little over six months now .

And overall , I've really enjoyed the time I've gotten to spend with this device .

Now , in this video , what I'm going to do is go over the best features of the Google Nest tub after six months of use , how the device is held up over the long term .

And ultimately , what my recommendation is for whether or not this device is worth it .

Let's dive in Google released what is now known as Google Nest hub in the second half of 2018 after its release , it was almost immediately on sale for the holidays and it's safe to say that these devices seem to be a hit .

So what makes this device so great for me , it boils down to three main categories , photo frame , media , playback , and smart home device controls .

First , let's talk about photo frame , which is the name of the actual photo display feature for the Google Nest hub .

Photo frame is typically the first thing you'll see when looking at the device , you can set the device to display a variety of photos provided by Google .

But the real heart of this feature is its connection to Google Photos .

We take so many photos with our smartphones nowadays .

But how often do I of us really go back to look at those old photos we took from a year ago and rediscover the memories that those photos bring out .

Now , if you're unfamiliar with Google Photos , it's a free service available on Android I Os Mac and Windows and it allows you to send an unlimited number of photos and videos up to the Google Photos cloud storage .

It's a great way to back up all the photos you take on all of your devices with the nest hubs , Google Photos integration .

You can set it up to show pictures of yourself , family , friends and pets and it will automatically create a people and pets album for you based on your selections which the nest hub can actually be set to .

So it'll display photos from this new people and pets album .

As you take new photos with the people and pets , you've identified for this album .

Those photos will automatically appear in the people and pets , Google Photos album and automatically start to come up on the Google nest hubs display .

When it is in photo display mode , you can also set your nest hub to show specific albums you already have in Google Photos .

The other thing that makes the next fantastic for displaying photos is the hub's display itself .

It has a brightness sensor as well as an ambient light color temperature sensor .

So it will make your pictures look correct in any given lighting situation .

The screen displays photos with a realism I haven't seen from other photo displays .

It displays photos how they would look if they were actually printed out and framed in your home .

Next up .

Let's talk about media playback .

One of the major and most useful features of Google home speakers is music and media playback .

The Google Nest hub sounds OK ?

It sounds similar to the Google home .

But with less space where the Google Nest hub really shines with music playback is with its display .

It'll show you the current artist playing on the device or on a speaker group .

It allows you to scrub through the media , play , pause , stop and skip tracks .

Another great feature Google added to the device was the ability to control the volume of the speaker in speaker groups on the nest hubs display , which is a really awesome feature .

If you have a multi room audio setup like I do in every room of my residence , you can play music from various services on the nest hub , including youtube music , Spotify , Pandora Tune in and soon .

Hopefully , Apple Music as well .

Also you can play video content on the display .

You can play news videos from sources like CNN or the BBC and you can of course play youtube videos on the device as well .

The last main feature of the nest hub that's been really important over the past six months has been smart home controls .

The nest hub basically acts as the central hub for controlling all of your home's smart devices that work with the Google assistant from smart lights to thermostats , smart switches , cameras , blinds and even doorbells , get to the controls for your entire smart home is easy .

You just swipe down from the top of the nest hub screen there .

You can make adjustments to your various smart home devices .

Over the past six months , I've often found myself going to the nest hub screen to control smart home devices rather than using my voice to give the Google assistant a command .

The screen offers a level of functionality with certain tasks of controlling smart home devices that you just don't get when using your voice and giving a command to the Google assistant .

Google also added some quick controls to this drop down as well .

You can instantly turn the lights on or off in the room that your nest has is located in .

Changing the temperature from the nest hub is quite easy .

And one of the features I've used a lot over the past six months .

Another feature I use quite often is with the smart light controls , you can not only change the brightness of a group of lights with the nest tub or an individual light , but you can also change the color of them as well .

If you're an owner of nest security cameras or the Nest to Dora Bell , those devices are nicely integrated into the Google Nest hub software .

Say , for example , if someone rings your doorbell , the video from the doorbell will pop up on the device's screen and allow you to answer the door from the nest hub .

Hey , what's up ?

If you use the nests facial recognition feature , the Google Nest tub can actually announce who the person is at the door and then show you the video feed on the nest hubs display .

Now to wrap up this review , I'll close by saying that the Google nest hub has been one of the best technology purchases I've made over the past several years .

Unlike a lot of products out there , almost every interaction I have with my Google nest hub is a positive one .

Thanks to its best feature photo frame .

The photos look natural and look better than on any other display I've ever seen photos displayed on .

And the connection to Google photos makes keeping this thing updated a breeze .

Plus , don't forget that the Google nest hub comes with the Google assistant and is able to answer all the commands .

You would normally ask a Google Home or Google Home mini with the addition of a screen which gives you a lot more things that you can do with it , things like recipes , getting definitions of words and dealing with lists as well as other tasks are just simply better on the nest hub versus a Google Home mini .

Thanks to the visuals that the nest hub screen provides as well as the audio that comes from its speaker .

I also like that Google not only added a mute switch to the nest hubs microphone , but made it a physical switch that physically disconnects the microphone's wiring giving you as the user the peace of mind that the mic is truly off .

So after six months of using this thing , where's the best place to put one ?

You may ask .

Well , personally , in my experience , my favorite place to put a Google nest hub has been on my desk .

I can control all of the speakers in my bedroom speakers group .

And I just love seeing the photos across the screen as I work throughout the day .

Now , Google just recently announced a larger version of the nest hub called the nest hub Max , which will go on sale later in summer 2019 .

It'll sport a nest camera , it'll have a 10 inch display and much better sound than the nest hub .

So sound quality is important to you with your Google assistant displays .

I'd say wait for the nest hub max to come out so you can try it before deciding on whether or not you want to get a nest hub if sound quality isn't as important to you .

And you like the idea of having a digital photo display that's around the same size as a five by seven inch photo frame .

Then I think the Google nest hub will be the perfect device for that use case .

You're going to find that the nest hub can fit in a lot more areas of your home versus the Google nest hub .

Max will basically on the max's larger size .

Well , that wraps up our review of the Google nest hub .

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Thanks again for watching this video .

I'm Josh Tedder for six months later .