Google did a lot right with its first-generation smart display, the Google Nest Hub. In 2018, the Nest Hub offered members of the Google ecosystem an affordable and easy way to access their smart home devices, Google Photos albums and, of course, Google Assistant. The first Nest Hub was a “me too!” device – Amazon’s Echo Show had been on the market for more than a year when Google launched. The Google Nest Hub (2nd generation) is the company’s third smart display.
It’s similar to the original, but the audio output has been improved, there’s a faster processor on board, it supports hands-free gesture control, and it can monitor your sleep with some new sensors. Google wants this new Nest Hub to sit on your nightstand. That’s the perfect place to use the device as a digital picture frame, and it needs to be pointed directly at your mattress for sleep monitoring. Unless you don’t plan on using the sleep monitoring feature.
There are no major aesthetic differences between the first and second generation Nest Hubs. The new Nest Hub has the same 7-inch touchscreen display with 1,024 x 600 resolution and chunky edges as the original. It still sits on a fabric-covered “stand.” It also still has a physical microphone mute switch and volume buttons on the back. Google says it kept the large borders around the display because most owners of the first-generation Nest Hub like to use it as a digital photo frame.
If you like the look and feel of the other devices in the Nest Hub family, you’ll like the second-generation Nest Hub. It’s not what you’d call an elegant piece of technology, but it’s functional and fits in well with other devices you’ll find on your nightstand. The sound quality of the Nest Hub (2nd generation) is much better than the first model.
The sound is projected loudly and clearly. According to Google, it also offers 50% more bass than the original. In this model, a third microphone has been added to record your voice instructions more frequently. Combined with the new machine learning chip in the device, this means that the Nest Hub’s Google Assistant almost always picks up my voice instructions and responds quickly.