Hey Brian, Thanks for the in-depth review. I have my hub in the kitchen so I think I’m sticking with the old one for now. I appreciate you helping make that decision clear and easy.
Good choice. I don't see a big reason to update those Hubs around the home (outside the bedroom). The speaker is better, but...that's not enough to go spend money for most I think.
Me too. No idea why I’d want that thing to track my sleep. I use wearable for that and have been for years and happy. Was hoping for more improvements. But relieved I don’t have to figure out what to do with the multiple hubs I have around my home.
another helpful review - thanks. The nest aware subscription is interesting, that was a good spot. I wonder at what point google will let us create routines based on its interpretation of Presence and Wakefulness from the soli sensor. Now that i think about it, i wonder when google will let us create routines which arent just time-based or voice driven.
I am glad I watched this video a 3rd time. Last evening I was debating on whether I should get Nest Hub 2nd Gen or Nest Audio to replace my old Google Home. The sound was my 2end consideration after these features of screen size and new chip. After watching this video, I must say I did not find much distinction between the sound from Nest Hub 2nd Gen and Nest Audio at that volume level - they were more like the same to me (blame my ears!). Guess what? This video has helped me make that critical decision. I will go for the Nest Hub. I can get my sounds from Amazon speakers :-) Thank you very very much. Your analyses are always detailed and leave no questions unanswered.
It's killing me how close you are to 100k subs and it feels like it's plateaued! I would consider it my own personal victory to see you get that Play button! I wish I could subscribe 5 more times! Off to share your links! Let's goooooo
Thanks for the shares! That helps! Don't worry, we haven't plateaued. There's a bit of a sag in our content views, but it'll come back around for sure. :)
@@AutomateYourLife been with you a long time man At this point, I'm invested! 😂 We need that milestone! Also, thanks for this video. I haven't gotten my hands on one of these yet. You are still the best resource out there for all things smart home
Is it worth updating from the first gen to second gen? I don't need an additional display at this time. I am not sure Soli and the 1 second increase in speed would do it. :) I am not sure how they have done it, but it seems to detect when I am close like the Max does. Touch sensitivity is much improved in the latest updates too. Any news on a second gen Max hub? If I was in the market for more displays, I would definitely be look at these over Echo's .
I don't think I'd say someone like yourself needs to go update right now. I really like the new features, but they're not game changing. And that 1 second increase in speed is eaten up by the slight decrease in speed on the Nest Hub's touch interface...sooooo.... As for a 2nd Generation Nest Hub Max...no news there and I wouldn't expect it. I'm surprised at the questions coming about that device...might need to address it on its own.
Great review. Interestingly, at 7:37, it seems to be showing your sleep schedule (instead of when you were actually asleep). And in the timeline graph on the next screen, it seems to indicate that you were awake around 6. Did the fit app show the correct time?
I’d really like them to do something with the Thread. An example would be the smoke alarm communicating locally to a display. The smoke alarm already can communicate with the thermostat directly. Or if someone rings the front door why not alert the hub immediately. I find it normally takes a second for my Minis to alert me. I think doorbells have thread. When I set my smoke alarm it communicated directly to my doorbell via something that went down several floors. Ideally they’d open up some of the the API so I could integrate alarms into Home Assistant. For example turning off all the electric heaters off if smoke is detected would be sensible. Been waiting years for them todo something though. Do you think they ever will?
@@AutomateYourLife I wish I shared your optimism. I read up on Weave when I got my first thermostat. I anticipated it being expanded within Nest back then. When Google built Thread into the Hub Max and bought Nest I thought they’d finally do it (pretty sure Weave can go over Thread). They seem to just build the hardware into stuff and then never do anything with it.
If I have no plans to use this for the sleep tracking, is it worth getting this version instead of the first generation? Want something that can live on my kitchen countertop and set alarms, bring up recipes, show what music is playing, show the weather, and voice control the lights and other smart home devices. Sort of seems like those things aren't really different? Especially hearing that it's a bit slower. Sounds like the speaker is slightly better though?
I think if it's the same price, definitely get the 2nd generation just for the speaker improvement. That part of the video should definitely tell ya it's worth it for music.
Thanks for the detailed review of the soli sleep sensor feature compared to the Withings Sleep pad. I'm testing Withings pad and Beautyrest pad for tracking a remote loved one's sleep pattern trends that may be due to medication changes
Good to see Google pushing Soli! If at first you don't succeed, try try again. That's how technology gets developed! Great review sir! Also, 15:22, you weren't kidding, Google Assistant does refer to you as "Big Boy" hahaha
Hey Brian, when will you make a smart home tour 2021 video? Would a great one! Why don't you make a video on your phone and show us a phone screen recording to show how you have your Google Home and Amazon Alexa apps setup and what devices are connected and which skills they use? Sure would be a great in-depth video!
I think I wanna do this when I move into a new place. I've just always felt like my current place doesn't show real well and we've been planning a move for a while now
not surprising, the music is censored. RU-vid? Quit being RU-vid! well that being said though, I will wait for the next generation of said nest hub to arrive, which is rumored to have a detachable tablet.
It's pretty good on the Nest Hub 2. I would say that both show 5/8 and Nest Hub have about the same speed. I like Nest for accuracy and daily life + sleep monitoring I like Alexa for automation, and the speaker is better.
In the UK can get an old Hub and Audio for £99, or this new Hub for £89. I won't be using it in my bedroom so won't get the sleep sensing. Are the processor and sound upgrades worth it?
The processor is the same, but it's now slower due to all the other elements like Soli on the SOC. So, I wouldn't say if you're not using sleep sensing that it's worth it. Gestures isn't. The sound improvement...that's debatable.
Another great video! You do present The Best of Both Worlds. I'm proud to join RU-vid Prime. RU-vid music just fine I use it on my phone. I have fell in love with the echo show 10 when paired two Echo Studios in a room music is beautiful. And when the show is reading with Kindle it shows the chapter number which is a life save when it comes unsynced. Again I think you produce excellent content keep up the great work period and go out there and save Canada.
I forgot when I heard about your TV you have Happy Ghost play Game of Thrones? If you do I'll send Patty Cakes up to beat them up. And I'll give you one guess what pictures are on my Echo Show 10. And there's probably a lot of Meowth LOL
@@AutomateYourLife hint hint I can explain why my internet drug before I went to fiber optic high speed I have 10 Echo Studios 4 Echo Show 10 now two Echo Plus 3 Fire Sticks. My medical health equipment and I have a round more or less 200 zigbee items and around 80 + Philips Z-Wave. And as you can guess 90% of them are Alexa but I expect you have more
Should I get a nest hub (even if I have a google home mini) or should I get a chromecast with google tv Or should I just straight up replace my google home mine with the nest hub
Well those are 2 pretty different devices. The Chromecast is really just meant for streaming and not much else. The Nest Hub is much more directed towards everyday information and smart home control. They can both stream content, but a big screen is awfully nice to look at when you're playing a movie :)
Quick question on the nest hub 2. For some reason I don't clearly understand sometimes when trying to cast or reproduce media from Netflix, RU-vid, Disney+, etc, it simply don't load. Wifi coverage is good. Is this a known issue? The only fix I have found is to reboot
G@@AutomateYourLife I have isolated the issue. It happens after streaming my Arlo Pro 2 cameras. Looks like the buffer/memory is not cleared after the camera stream ends. Im already in contact with google support, but im curious if this is something isolated to me or to Arlo cameras or if it is with any camera...
Great detailed review, Brian. But do you feel comfortable with being exposed to the 60 GHz radar that Soli uses at close range for 8 hours a day while sleeping? Yes, it's low power, but still, VERY close range and long duration.
That's a great question! Power matters, and the extreme low power being used is important. I'm not worried about it at all, and that comes from someone who does worry about these things!
@@AutomateYourLife I guess it was the possible cumulative effects I was concerned about. It's like the 5G debate all over again. mWave (39 GHz) 5G doesn't penetrate walls too well, but this will have a pretty clear shot at ya!
I am thinking of getting a Google Nest Hub Gen 2. But I don't know if to get one right now because of some laggy UI update thing going on with them. Is everyone having this problem? If so, I hope google can fix the problem at some point!
So the thread function in the hub wont work with nanoleaf's thread products? And do you know why they are waiting and when they will aproximitly open up the thread function?
@@AutomateYourLife wait, does that mean that it wont work with nanoleafs thread products, even when they open up the thread border router function? Or will it work with every thread product?
What if i try to cast to the nest hub 2nd gen, only the audio of my windows pc and not the entire screen (as it is possible to do with the nest mini and xiaomi mi clock sprakers)? Is that possible or I’m obligated to cast the screen as if i was casting to a chromecast?
It really depends how the app does it that you're using. if it sends picture...you'll cast picture. I haven't tried this with a bunch of apps and software, so...I can't guarantee anything.
When are they going to fix alarms? When I was in grade school, I could set my alarm to wake up to an exact song on a cd and then listen to the rest of the cd in order or on shuffle. Then I got an iPod. I set it up to my iHome and it started at the exact second that I wanted it to on an exact song that I wanted. It would play whatever songs or albums I wanted to afterwards. Now I have to tell Google out loud and it doesn't get the right song or playlist. So then I have to go into the settings and fully type in a song or album and hope it gets it right. I also need to own the RU-vid Music subscription (which I do). But then I still am limited to not even being able to search my playlists - it suggests some of mine, but I can't see them. I also can't use my uploaded music. And I can't start in the middle of a song. Why is the alarm system worse today than it was 15 years ago? Especially on a device that specifically mentions how it does so well with sleep systems. And why do I feel like I am the only one talking about this?
I'm interested in the sleep tracking. I pre-ordered one but canceled in order to see some reviews first. Does it detect sleep if you are on your side? Or on your side with your back to the device? Or under a heavy blanket? But for sure I'm not interested in paying Google a subscription to use something I already paid for
All of those situations you gave are good to go. I tested each sleep method I could. It's more a concern with other people/animals in the bed. It still handles the people on the other side of the bed, just not the animals in your space thing.
Goog appears to be suggesting that you can group this gen2 with a Nest mini, which you cannot do with gen1. Can you confirm this? I have two minis grouped in my office, and the stereo sound is more than a 100% improvement. I'd like to do that in the bedroom, but I'm not going to buy two gen2 units to do it.
You can group, but you do not get stereo sound from a group. They can't speaker pair at the moment. That was one of the first questions I asked actually! And speaker pairs are always just between like speakers anyways, so you'd have to own 2 Gen 2's
@@AutomateYourLife - Good point … I’ll hang on. But I HAVE to stay out of stores or at least don’t look at a Max … ‘cause I’m weak 😉 I was going to go to a Bestbuy in Calgary (Beacon Hill … you know the place …?) and fortunately there were people lined up outside … I ain’t waiting!!! 👍🏼👍🏼
The Nest Hub Max is snappy for me. The older Nest Hub is OK. This one is slightly slower on the interface. Watch kinda towards the middle of the video there... It's because they didn't really change the display processor, while upgrading the number of devices/interfaces that processor has. It's not a big change or a big slowdown, but I noticed it.
I bought a Nest Hub 2nd GEN shortly after it came out. It was working for around five minutes, when I realized I made a mistake setting it up. It was easy to reset it and try again, except it refused to connect ever again. Bottom line, I was told by Nest Support in the Philippines that I needed a new Router. I have several other Smart Devices working fine. Why doesn't Google tell you to call your ISP before purchasing. Guess that they didn't want to hurt sales. Returned.
So if they were right and it was a router problem, you'll start to experience problems with your other smart devices including little drop offs and things generally not working right. You should probably watch this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-avwtJYBiiUM.html and this one: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RR_IfsLT3gQ.html
@@AutomateYourLife I am due to get from my ISP, two new boxes. I assume one will be a modem and the other a router. I currently have a Lenovo essential clock, Alexa clock Sphere and an Echo Dot in the bathroom. I live in a studio and have never had a single problem, ever.. I watched the links. Does this help?
It could! The Nest Hub doesn't do anything the Lenovo clock doesn't on the Wifi side, so it's basically the same...could just be a bad one you got or you are having issues on wifi connectivity
@@AutomateYourLife I've had no WiFi problems at all. I even ordered a new Nest Hub 2. But the woman from Google said I shouldn't open it because she promised she could get the broken one working. What's crazy is that between waiting for the ISP boxes and several days of phone calls, the device would be no longer covered under warranty. In disgust, I sent both back yesterday. I was always a Google fan, but these events have left a real bad taste in my mouth. Thanks for communicating with me.
Don't know if anyone else has this issue with google smart home ,I tell it to turn off the lamps and the assistant tells me those lights haven't been set up yet but then she turns them off it also turns them off one at a time and is very slow
I had the "not set up yet" bug a while ago. Can't remember what it was. As for turning them off one at a time, that's usually based on the services being different and being cloud based services. If you use one maker, usually it's pretty much the same moment the lights turn off. Might help!
@@AutomateYourLife thanks Brian I use Phillips hue I fell out with Amazon so moved to Apple but I use Spotify so the HomePod mini is annoying as it works much better with Apple Music which I don’t like and I’m getting rid of my iPhone for the s23 ultra soon so I thought I’d try google home I’m using a nest hub 2 and a Sonos one to control the lights but I’m finding google home is a bit buggy which annoys my wife then she will just start using the switches 😂
I honestly keep my phone at least 6ft away from my bed and don't like wifi and radio signals so close. I wish I could connect this device with a lan adapter like I did with my Chromecast device
At the moment, you really can't. That's what I mean later in the video when I talk about automation not yet being really available. It's those sensors we can't do anything with.
Someone talks in their sleep? You should be able to see if someone made a command to Google. I like that with Google. I can see that in 2022 (even Christmas 2021) the price of these will or should drop quite considerably as they're pushing the sleep radar, but won't be free to anyone who buys this in 2022.
Video is Great but I will totally skip buying this display. The Upgrade is small. I don’t know someone who will pay a monthly fee for this device to track your sleep and give you advices that you already know.
oh joy i get to be bombed by radar waves while i sleep .. ya no thanks that is why is disable ultra sound sensing on the one i got already. i rather not find out what the long term effects of being exposed to ultrasound waves for 8 hours a day every day.
We should be able to use the radar to turn on the light when we enter the room!!! But noooo that would be too high tech.... Don't give two craps about the sleeping BS...
Again... You are out of your flipping mind if you put this thing in your bedroom let alone next to your bed. Google should not have a microphone in your bedroom let alone a motion sensor that is able to tell when you are sleeping or doing other things in your bed. I don't even take my phone to bed, I leave it in the kitchen charging. Go buy yourself an old alarm clock and keep tech out of your bedroom.
