Google Nest Hub Gen2 – knows  when you are asleep (security/speaker review)

The Google Nest Hub Gen2 is a classic Google smart speaker with a 7” touch screen and a clever Soli radar motion/sleep sensor that can track sleep habits.

The addition of a screen makes the Google Nest Hub Gen2 more useful as a smart speaker as it can deliver voice responses and text and picture excerpts. It is also a pretty good Netflix and YouTube player.

I want to address the somewhat controversial sleep tracking before we get into the review. First, you don’t have to use it, and second, it will become a paid service in 2023 if you do. So, for now, all you need to know is that Sleep Sensing tracks your sleep and gives you personalised insights and tips for a more restful sleep. It makes it easier to understand what could be impacting your sleep. It can detect your respiratory rate and sleep disturbances like coughing, snoring and toilet visits. As it only works for the person closest to the speaker, you would need one each side of the bed for dual occupancy.

Australian review: Google Nest Hub Gen2

AU website	here
Price	$149 RRP but on Google for $99 until 12/9/2022
Warranty	One year
Country of manufacture	Thailand
Company	Google is an American multinational technology company specialising in Internet-related services and products, including online advertising, a search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware. It is considered one of the Big Five US tech companies with Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft.
Other	CyberShack Google Nest news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed.

You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First impression – Very Google and nice white front and chalk or charcoal back – Pass+

It is, first and foremost, a smart mono-speaker with a screen. But the screen adds so much more. Ask it the weather, and it will tell you the maximum and minimum, as well as show the day’s full weather. As it a general question, it will answer and show the reference site and more information. Or ask it for a recipe, and chances are it will show a video on how to make it too.

But it is also smarter. It has a temperature sensor (for room temperature) and an Ambient screen that adjusts to room light levels. In addition, it ties into any Google Home device and can be used for video security camera images, to control smart lights/devices and more – clever Google.

Setup – Easy via Google Home – Pass

Plug it in, wait a few minutes and open Google Home. It should find the speaker (if not, move it closer to the router during setup). Connect to Wi-Fi, name and place it a room, e.g., bedroom. That is it.

Privacy – Pass if you don’t let it know you

To be fair, you have to trust someone, and Google Android is on over 80% of the world’s smartphones. Its revenue model is to serve you focused advertisements, and it will never sell individually identifiable personal data. It is way less intrusive/persuasive than Alexa, with an Amazon sales focus.

You have two options when setting it up. You can personalise it to your voice (and others in the household) or just use guest mode.

If you personalise, it opens up your Gmail, Calendar, contacts, and more, so it can be your assistant. It will tell you what your day is like and remember your playlists and preferences. I am not sure Australia is ready for that yet.

Guest mode simply responds to all questions. In either case, you need at least one Google Account to set it up, and all conversations are saved to that account. You can then select the period before deletion.

And if you are paranoid, there is a button to turn off the three far-field mics (good to about 5 metres).

Sound – pretty good – Pass

It has a mono43.5mm ( 1.7”) driver with 40Hz to 20kHz frequency response. It can get loud at over 80dB, but the sound suffers from harshness at that level.

It has a bit of mid-bass, good high-bass, and is relatively flat to about 5kHz (for clear voice). You would not call it hi-fi, but it is perfect for quiet music to go to sleep and not bad for personal listening to Netflix or YouTube. You can also ask it to add more bass etc.

Broadcast – hear ye, hear ye – Pass

You can broadcast a message to one or more Google speakers. Very handy as an intercom around the home.

Duo – video calls – Pass

You can use it for Google Duo calls to or from any Android smartphone. The only catch is that it does not have a camera, so you can’t make a video call. Google figured most would be used in the bedroom, leaving the camera out. No call charges apply. Excellent.

Alarms, reminders, and more – Pass

You can use it to set multiple alarms.  These are only on the device, not in the cloud. If you have a blackout, you won’t get the alarm, so always back up with your smartphone.

Motion detection means hand gestures – Pass

Quick Gestures use Motion Sense to detect when your hand moves – without a camera. Play or pause a song or video, snooze an alarm and stop a timer.

Photo frame – Pass

You can select your photos uploaded to Google Photos for a screen saver or slideshow. These are crisp and vibrant.

Size – reasonably petite for bedside use – Pass+

177.4 (W) x 120.4 (H) 69.5 mm footprint x 558g. It comes with a Google 15W plug charger. It connects to Wi-Fi 5 2.4 or 5GHz. Voice is fine on 2.4Ghz, but video is best on 5GHz.

CyberShack’s view – Google Nest Hub Gen2 is the smart speaker of choice

I like this audio and video device – my only issue is that it has no camera, so I need to use the Google Nest Hub Max ($349) for video calls.

But other video smart speakers, notably the Lenovo Smart Displays 7, 8 and 10, have cameras and full Google Smart speaker capability (these may be on run-out).

It is great at what it does and gets an unreserved buy recommendation.