Google Nest Hub Max

So this is a much bigger version of the Google Home Hub (now known as the Google Nest Hub)

Twice the size and with a built in camera.

Anyone picking one up?

Iā€™ve run out of rooms I need an assistant in so Iā€™ll have to give this one a miss :worried:

1 Like

I picked the regular one up free with the 3a

2 Likes

Goodbye to the Nest API :sleepy:

shakes fist at Google

2 Likes

Pretty much all the news Iā€™ve seen on this has said how bad it is that Google included a camera on this (considering it was a ā€œfeatureā€ to not have a camera on the first model).

Butā€¦ If you are buying a smart device which is designed to listen to you 24/7ā€¦ can you really be concerned with privacy?

The concept behind the new Nest Hub is literally my idea of the future.

If anyone is going to make this work well, itā€™s Google - They are so far ahead in the AI stakes right now.

My feeling is that if you want to have these futuristic devices, youā€™ll have to accept the trade off in potential privacy issuesā€¦

3 Likes

I wish the original had a cam. Would have been a good video call service in our kitchen :neutral_face:

Yes you can.

How that data is stored and used is where privacy concerns kick in. I donā€™t think there needs to be any trade off at all. Trust level perhaps but thatā€™s different.

Valid point, and possibly more where I was going/aiming with my comment.

That being said, how many of the ā€œbigā€ tech companies do we trust?

Apple? Generally considered trustworthy.
Google? Mehā€¦ Not so much.
Facebook? - :joy:
Amazon? Less so since the recent ā€œour staff listen to your Echo devices so we can improve the serviceā€ commentsā€¦

But I guess there does need to be a human element involved at some stage to improve everything.

3 Likes

Bingo. I trust one of those companies substantially more than all the others.

1 Like

Iā€™m 100% Apple - But boooooooy, is Siri bad.

Google Assistant is seriously next level in comparison, and Iā€™m not sure Apple will ever be able to catch up in that space (not to mention their poor offering in the ā€œsmartā€ home devices).

4 Likes

Yup, Apple are behind on this stuff but maybe thatā€™s all part of the compromise.

I have Alexa devices at home but given itā€™s almost only for ā€˜play musicā€™ or ā€˜switch on/off lightsā€™ I can see HomeHub being a future (expensive) investment.

2 Likes

They seemed to put a lot of effort into AR, which hasnā€™t really gone anywhere (yet).

Siri just hasnā€™t developed at allā€¦ Itā€™s the most disappointing of all the Apple features right now.

Back to the topic - Iā€™d definitely pick up a Nest Hub if I was even partially in the Google eco system, or if it played nicely with iCloud (which it doesnā€™t).

1 Like

Iā€™m delighted this one has a camera. I was going to add a Nest Cam Indoors to my kitchen (to go with my existing Home Hub) but now Iā€™ll probably just replace the current Home Hub with this one and kill two birds with one stone. Then I can use the smaller Hub in the bedroom.

2 Likes

Off-topic, but Siri has a bit of a perception problem. Theyā€™ve actually improved it a lot over the last year, and in some respects it now outperforms Alexa.

3 Likes

Nice article, but I think the reason for Siriā€™s perception (for me anyway), is the effort involved in getting what I want when using Siri, vs Google.

Siri requires me to be pretty robotic with how I ask it things - General questions are OK, but half the time it doesnā€™t pick up the ā€œHey Siriā€, and the watch doesnā€™t register me bringing it to my mouth to talk.

When it does pick it up, itā€™s very unnatural and you have to be quite specific with no stuttering or ā€œermā€™sā€.

I find Google Assistant to be so good in all these areas, even though I donā€™t use it much (due to itā€™s lack of integration with Apple).

So Siri might be able to answer questions, and I appreciate itā€™s come on leaps and bounds since it first started in terms of the tech and ā€œstatsā€ - But for me, itā€™s not a perception that itā€™s bad, itā€™s the reality (at the moment).

1 Like

Yeah, itā€™s the ā€˜roughnessā€™ I can use with Alexa that ā€˜worksā€™ (perception) for me. I donā€™t have to memorise specific commands, just talk at it and it responds correctly most of the time.

Siri still feels likeā€¦ ā€œOhhh I didnā€™t say that right soā€¦ā€ and local information is a joke, I live in Glasgow, if I ask for how Rangers or Celtic are doing, I get either New York or Boston team responsesā€¦ (I support none of those teams, before anyone starts!)

2 Likes

I probably wonā€™t be getting one simply because I donā€™t have any interest in making video calls. Are there other genuine use cases for the camera? The larger screen could be useful so maybe one for the bedroom as a clock, etc. or maybe replace the existing Home Hub in the kitchen with this one? Hmm.

From what limited info Iā€™ve read, it seems like Google want to track who comes in the room, and adjust everything to suit that person.

I think you may be able to use gestures to control other stuff, and itā€™s how I imagine the future to look when it comes to smart devicesā€¦

Butā€¦ Itā€™s one thing having a smart device listen to you all day, itā€™s something else to have it watching you all dayā€¦

There seems to be a lot of negativity around this (understandably so), and Iā€™d love to see how Google use this video dataā€¦

1 Like

Iā€™m sure they will be completely transparent and upfront about what they tell us they are doing with said dataā€¦ :wink:

1 Like

Iā€™ll get one if it can actually recieve all casts, if I can get Netflix on it iā€™m in

The use cases they described were video calls, security cameras and gesture control, and information personalisation as someone else mentioned. Thereā€™s also a physical off switch for the camera that they say fully disconnects the camera from the circuit (which should be very easy for teardowns to verify)

Actually yes, they said theyā€™d be publishing documents describing their data uses

1 Like