Google Nest Hub Worth It? Best Smart Home System?

• Is Alexa Worth It? Wat... - Amazon Alexa Review
Audio Credit: Ruck P - Sunrise Hike chll.to/be1cef1e
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:19 - Quick Overview (for people in a hurry)
00:34 - What is a Nest Speaker
01:27 - Nest Mini
02:06 - Nest Audio
02:35 - Nest WiFi
03:05 - Nest Hub
04:20 - Nest Hub Max
05:04 - Nest Hub and Hub Max shared features
06:15 - Audio Comparison
07:17 - Is the Nest lineup worth it in 2022? Google nest hub 2nd generation google nest hub max

[@DGYtown]

I currently have Alexa’s throughout my home. I bought a nest hub for my office and now I am converting my home into google devices.

[@lamazejohnson4909]

I got rid of all my Alexa stuff. The KZbin integration makes Nest a better ecosystem in my opinion.

[@evanwashington1722]

Curious about getting my own. Would say it’s worth purchasing ?

[@DGYtown]

@@evanwashington1722 definitely. I bought a nest hub max, 3 nest hubs, 2 nest mini’s.

[@evanwashington1722]

@@DGYtown appreciate the response 💯

[@jovanacasillashernandez3531]

​@@evanwashington1722You will love it

[@gobananas1620]

By the way, a few weeks ago we bought a "Nest Audio" speaker to add to our Max and Mini speakers. We were concerned it might have that crackle noise many complain of, so we kept the receipt. We really needed something with more umph than a Mini for out in the backyard patio and pool area. They/Google must have fixed the crackle noise people complain about. Our's started with a big software update when connected, and in the few weeks we have had it, we've not heard even one crackle noise, it sounds really good in fact. Just sharing our positive experience.

[@2ndmanofjazz]

Same except I’ve had mines for 2 years and haven’t heard it either.

[@esinohio]

Same here, zero problems out of either of my Nest audio speakers.

[@gabrielegirelli4996]

Same here

[@AveryChow]

I have the same speaker and it sounds amazing! I've never heard a single crackle either

[@PetterL]

Have a stereo-pair in the office, 0 crackle, a few times failing to cast to the pair but feels more like a software issue.

[@OurThingz]

The most calm, informative & simple yet straight to the point review, keep up the good work 👍🏻

[@thehernandez1553]

Thanks for this review, very good quality and so easy to understand.

[@2-InfinityNBYND]

Great video...answered all the questions I had.

[@tarnished439]

There is always a time when you’re wondering why is a channel so underrated, this is one such example. Keep it up!

[@FTGTapGod]

Just happened upon this review. I had to tell you it looks great. I don't know what you do for work, but I think the natural vignette you created by dropping general exposure in the background works really well. Most KZbin videos are fairly high-key (for good reason, compression), but you're still giving the nasty KZbin compression plenty of info in the background that it's not overly noisy. I really like the texture you created in each shot. Balanced exposure without being completely void of depth. It's refreshing for a KZbin video. Keep it up! P.S. - I use Google Duo all the time...

[@NickRains]

Thank you!

[@jacobf6623]

Very nicely explained brother. Keep up the good work. My Google nest mini 2nd generation has stopped making sounds. It works but there is no sound coming from speaker anymore. Just now after watching this video I will now be purchasing Google nest hub 2nd gen

[@jimitrys1894]

I have two nest audios paired in stereo in my living room and I couldn’t be happier with their sound. Also I bought them used for 30€ each and here they retail for 40-50€ so I think they’re a bargain

[@WasteD-]

Hey man, great video! What's that last small clock at the right in: 07:23?

[@d11ita]

Great review, thanks 👏🏻

[@dkodko11]

I think it's time for a big upgrade on Google Nest products to keep up with current technology.

[@adammachin]

A major advantage to Google Home is that you can set the default display or audio output to different devices or groups. So you can say to google open KZbin it will do it on the TV. If you set the default audio out to a chrome cast audio you can ask google to play X and for me it outputs on my hifi. You can also group chrome cast devices and have multi room audio. It’s very nice. So if I say “multi hifi” I get kitchen and living room. The audio is synced too.

[@O1OO1O1]

When it works, it's magic. Though the user interface sucks, is buggy, and frequently screws up simple things.

[@netchkin]

regarding crackling in Nest Audio, I had a similar problem with nest mini 2. Turned out this was caused by an ultra-sound feature that was possible to turn off in settings, no crackling ever since. Perhaps this could apply also to Nest Audio?

[@reemokiid]

Now this is quality content!

[@kissablestyles]

I love my nest audio. I really want another one.

[@TradingAlien]

Schweet, a tech review in 21:9 😁👌 (I have a widescreen for editing and trading, but apart from movies, there's very little content made for this format). Nest Hub is a good value (great during discounts), will get one but I still don't like how they're wired... (should be internal battery and usb-c charger IMO, making it easy to move around the house)

[@O1OO1O1]

These aren't meant for that. The Pixel tablet is.

[@emicarvajal]

Hi! I got a question for you.. maybe u can clear it up for me. Situation: i bought some wifi led spotlights compatible with google home and assistant. I downloaded both apps and configured them without problems. Things got complicated when I wanted to execute the voice commands to turn the lights on/off. It turns out that in order to do that, I must first unlock my iPhone and only then can I say "ok Google, turn on the lamp". Should I expect such a nuisance from buying a Google nest? thanks in advance and congratulations! your videos are great.

[@kelvinlieu8319]

Hi where did you get that Astronaut from?

[@anglo621]

Just got a nest gen 2 but can't figure out how to browse different shows on Netflix or KZbin ?

[@mr.no_name5777]

If I have a nest audio and a nest hub can I have both of them in the same room and control them both with out them interfering with each other?

[@thornwivans]

I have 2 of the bigger speakers and a bunch of smaller ones around the house ..never experienced the crackle!

[@Joeybsmooth]

Thanks I just got a mini and the hub went on sale lol.

[@sunshinelady7971]

Does it work with video doorbell

[@MiguelPMoya]

I also use DUO and quite a lot :D

[@mrterrywatkins]

Ah, you had to mention crackling, I bought a Alexa 8, it sounded really good, then about 75 percent volume I heard the crackling, and like you say it was not always happening, so not cool for listening to music, now the sound was good quality has a simple eq that only has 3 settings , bass , treble and mid, but I was happy

[@jovanacasillashernandez3531]

I have a nest 2gen in my room i use it for music and to watch youtube in the night to sleep and i love mine i even have my pictures on the display my phone numbers on contacts i have thwm in case of emergency

[@juntaozhang7857]

a great thx for the 21:9 resolution

[@Donnner93]

Thinking about getting one of these, but do you have any idea if the 3rd gen will come out sooner rather than later? The 2nd gen has been out for quite a while, Also considering an Athom Homey Pro to use with my Philip hue system - Any thoughts?

[@NickRains]

I think google is working on the next generation of all of these devices. But I would be surprised if they are all regretted by the end of 2023. Probably the nest mini, hopefully nest audio, and then I think we’ll have the next pixel tablet that will be like a nest hub max but I don’t think will be a full on replacement to the nest hub max. If I were you, I would still buy a few things during Black Friday but I wouldn’t buy enough for a whole house

[@jyxiaa]

I have had the nest for more than 3 years now, it's pretty good, except one BIG FLAW that sometimes ruin everything, if I'm talking to my bedroom nest, the one from the kitchen may respond to me, for some reasons ? And the latency, goddam this screen is slow, i almost never touch it anymore cause i know it's gonna be frustrating

[@MrMartellSincere]

I need this device 👍🤠👍

[@Cristian.humans]

does the google nest hub are the app smart things?

[@pious7211]

Can i install other apps in nest hub

[@SANJAYWITHYOU]

How’s it with doorbell?

[@babycakejam]

How set up

[@elizabethweber390]

I bought a google nest hub at Christmas and all the features are great but the one I wanted the most is the sleep timer and it doesn’t work and when I researched the problem I found that google knows about the problem but has done nothing about it. For me it’s basically a fancy paperweight

[@elizabethweber390]

They have finally fixed it

[@zbruch66]

Hello. Thank you for the review. One question plz: Is it possible to use the Google Nest Hub as a standalone photo frame without connecting to a phone or tablet, without a Wi-Fi connection, but simply by uploading photos to the built-in memory?

[@NickRains]

Wouldn't work. It would just show you an error. Best solution would either be a nice Android tablet or a digital photo frame

[@zbruch66]

@@NickRains thank you 🤝

[@evertonbrome2539]

Can it listen to What makes Us Human Jeremy Vine on BBC Radio 2 sounds? I cannot get this pod casts by any means. It was suggested I download the podcasts to my phone and take it from there. I would likw to hear Radio Barbados and other caribbean stations. please advise

[@NickRains]

That’s a new one for me. I’ll have to think about that. But my first thought is the bbc radio app should allow you to cast. But if not, and you can’t find an app that has the podcast and allows you to cast, you might have to download it and then cast it.

[@guyverdio]

I recently got my first smart display in the form of the Echo Show 10. I very quickly returned it for the Nest Hub Max and am much happier. I was originally won over by the 360 degree rotating display. It was a wow factor at first but quickly became more of a frustration. Times when I didn't want it to follow me I'd tell it to stop following and alexa would confirm that it was turned off for the current activity and sometimes this would work and other times it'd just start following me again. The reverse was the same too, times that I thought it would follow me it wouldn't and I'd then have to tell it to follow me. Being in a house with a family made it even more unpredictable what it would do and probably the worst part was when using the screen, it'd constantly make small adjustments and you just wanted to scream at it to stay still. Being able to control the rotation when viewing the camera on your phone or dropping in was actually cool, but like the issue he raised with the nest hub, the times I would want to use that is maybe check in on my pets, but it's on a counter and you can't remotely adjust the tilt so... I could just disable the whole rotation thing, but if I've paid extra money for a feature that I can't use, I'd rather just get my money back and go with the fixed display on the nest hub max. The sound quality on the Echo Show 10 was by far better imo, not that the nest hub max has bad sound at all but the Echo Show 10 was a much fuller sound with somehow a wider sound stage. Dealing with alexa is a chore. You get familiar with it and it gets easier but it's very particular on how you word/phrase things compared to google assistant where I feel it mostly gets things right just by naturally talking to it. I don't have to take that extra moment of thinking how I should word my command. Which is a shame because alexa's responses are much more natural sounding compared to the robotic voice of the google assistant. But by far the worst thing (and the most unacceptable) about the echo show 10 was the UI and the responsiveness. Put aside the perhaps subjective opinion that the UI is an eyesore, the responsiveness and animations when scrolling or opening things is so delayed and laggy and navigating it is so frustrating. It was clear that they intend for you to interact with it almost entirely by voice, but there are times or situations where I'd rather just touch the screen to do things and doing this on the echo show 10 was excruciating. The nest hub max UI is the complete opposite experience of this. Not only can you do everything by voice, it's just as easy to do everything by touch, everything is neatly laid out, it's intuitive and it's responsive. You can cast to the nest hub max. That's a pretty big feature all on it's own, especially when the echo show 10 or nest hub max have a severely limited range of apps. The echo show 10 does have a web browser and I found I 'could' get some streaming services working through that, but it slowed the entire device to a crawl and became basically unusable. I don't know what hardware is in the echo show 10 but either the software is horribly optimized or the device is extremely underpowered. I thought the skills concept of alexa was pretty neat and could be promising but honestly, a large amount of the skills available are just junk. The Echo Show 10 has a zigbee hub built in... guess that could have been useful if I didn't already own the Philips hue hub with my smart lights. Both of them are kind of shithouse for video calls, both really need to support more apps in this department. However the camera on the echo show 10 is far superior. I guess lastly, the alexa ecosystem and ring products is cheaper than the google ecosystem and their nest products. But I much prefer the experience of the google assistant, their software and products so I guess I'm stuck paying a bit more.

[@chrisanschau8169]

Just write a book at this point haha

[@tech7352]

@@chrisanschau8169 I think he provided valuable personal experiences. The various points are broken up into paragraphs, and it's very easy to digest. You'd have to read like 20-30 other comments to get the same amount of insight.

[@danesnick]

Have you had any UX issues with the 2nd Gen Nest Hub? I briefly had one and noticed that the interface + touch inputs were incredibly laggy, leading me to return it :(

[@NickRains]

It seems that every new update to the google displays is only making things worse. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with the sonos lawsuit, but all of my google displays and speakers are extremely slow and buggy.

[@danesnick]

@@NickRains Oof thanks for the quick response. I hope things improve. No issues with my 1st gen home mini's, but I'll keep an eye on updates to see if the hubs get better over time.

[@isaiasserrano1948]

What is the astronaut doll for

[@gobananas1620]

Just bought the Max after watching your excellent video. Like it. Really like using the intercom features. A few questions: 1. Can it bookmark a webpage and display that bookmarked webpage on request? If so, how? 2. Also, is there a Google Home app web interface? 3. Is there a work-around, without subscription, to have it phone 911 emergency calls, e.g. via a Google Voice number, or other methods? 4. Will these be getting updated to the "Matter" standard and "Thread"? Same question for the Nest Mini, etc. Thanks

[@NickRains]

I will say, google is supposed to be updating their displays to a new operating system. So all of this may change any day. 1. There is a way, but it’s really complicated. Google search “ Reddit u/accobo open custom website on google display” for a guide. 2. There isn’t currently, but you can use the app on pretty much any phone or tablet 3. You might be able to connect twilio. It’s a free service (there is a paid version) that can call certain numbers. But I doubt it would call your local 911. I would have it call someone else with the message to have them call 911 4. I doubt the max will get updated to matter or thread.

[@amigatommy7]

I would like to know if my dog is on the counter.

[@christianmuzzio1477]

I am getting sick and tired of Amazon's incessant push for subscription services ie Amazon Music. Does Nest have these annoying ads when asking to play a track?

[@NickRains]

Nest will let you use KZbin music if you want, but I’ve always used Spotify. When setting up your nest you can choose who your music provider is.

[@Kennykoo65]

Same here. Getting tired of Amazon’s ads and pushing music premium. I have yt music premium and love it but it is not an option on Alexa devices.

[@2ndmanofjazz]

I had my best audio for 2 years and mines never crackled.

[@brianpaulmurray]

"I can only see my dogs if they're on the counter" 😆

[@celtglen]

I was using mine because I have low visionary can no longer read. The last year so it's been messing up like crazy. And I used to be an IT tech so I tried all the tricks that we learned in support and I can't get this thing to work for somebody who's blind. Can somebody please just tell me how the crap to use this thing if I'm blind

[@MegaMijit]

i basically got the nest hub for free with my pixel 7 and kinda regret it especially since the only useful feature sleep sensing is getting locked behind a subscription service. and it cant even video chat..

[@doemis8573]

Ralph Fiennes doing tech reviews? Quite surprising!

[@felipevictorio8394]

My family uses Google Duo 😂 We are Samsung lovers so when we talk its thru Duo.

[@bowlsem7]

Lol! Yes this video didn't age well. Duo became the defacto Android video calling app. In the US at least.

[@MegaMijit]

i love the look of the nest audio, but the fact that theyre not detachable w a built in battery is a deal breaker for me

[@nijego]

I don't understand why people rate products based on a defect the Product has. Return it or get it fixed, a defect has nothing to do with the overall product

[@josecebrian4834]

Working in Spain?

[@mrterrywatkins]

Dang the small one was the better sound

[@KatKillaLove]

I use google duo lol

[@LMVCORP]

What is that astronaut looking thing?

[@NickRains]

💬Thoughts on Alexa 🤷‍♂️- kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHmmXqt_bqypisk

[@armanb9711]

The solution that solves no problem.

[@WM22]

I am confused why you can play music by using the router i find it strange

[@NickRains]

It basically has a nest mini built into it

[@Ferch]

Which sounds better? Nest mini or best hub 2?

[@NickRains]

In my opinion they sound pretty similar. At that point it comes down to if you want the screen or not

[@companyoflosers]

the hub sure cant display the feeds from my unifi cameras. and they sure as hell arent working on it. wouldn't be difficult, but they want you to buy their nest cams even though unifi's are better and have more features. anti-competitive imo.

[@cipriangosu610]

Ok Nest hub for me

[@barrywilson1842]

My 89 yea r old father has gone into a nursing home. He wants to see my 89 year old mother every day but she can't drive anymore and we can't take her every day. Could you recommend a video calling system that they coukd use to see one another easily? Thank you.

[@NickRains]

I’m in a similar situation for my 88 year old grandmother. I’ve been deciding between a Facebook portal or an echo show. In my experience, the video calling for the echo wasn’t very good. But I haven’t tried a Facebook portal yet.

[@NickRains]

I’ve also been thinking of just an iPad on a stand for FaceTime calls

[@newvillagefilms]

Impressive... but can it make you dinner?

[@jheldal]

Recently bought the Nest II screen but experiencing a few problems. 1: The first 2 days, it showed the temperature on the screen and then it disappeared. I've never been able to get it back. Even asked Google to shoe the temperature on the screen, but she did not understand. 2: I've created a folder to hold my photos so see them on the screen. 364 photos in all. But I never see more than the same 30-40, again and again. 3: I wanted to do the same with my music, but that seems impossible. It will ONLY stream from some PREMIUM subscription, fx. Spotify. Why? Is this just a gimmick to force you into spending even more money on subscriptions, just to use it?

[@NickRains]

I hope this helps 1: open the Google Home app on your phone and scroll down until you find your display and open it. At the top right you’ll see a gear icon, that’s where the settings are for your display. Scroll down to photo frame and then near the bottom should be an option to turn on weather. 2. I agree that google seems to pick a small selection of photos. One option is to create several smaller albums and rotate them. Like maybe have a summer album and a winter album. 3. For streaming your own music, the best you can do is you can cast music from your phone or PC. Otherwise it will use a service provider that choose in your settings.

[@Max86421]

Try this command, OK Google turn on the light in 5 minutes

[@elipeters5658]

Ive owned my hub for over 2 years and can say im utterly over it! Mostly due to its vocal response... have your volume set to 10, because you listened hard to your favourite tunes, then the annoyance factor is multiplied. The problem is im integrated now... smart devices everywhere.

[@O1OO1O1]

You really sell people short by not mentioning all the issues with Google smart devices. It's like a beta product, but their post launch, 2nd Gen.

[@ethenjordan2010]

Google is much better, I switched esp for smart home things. SO much better.

[@chicomaxima1]

Why waste all that money just grab your old phone and turn it into hub and tape it to the frigerator

[@maxxwellbeing5208]

Not a fan of facial recognition.

[@ddvantandar-kw7kl]

You think people have enough time ? The basic query they don't understand after a decade forget about conversation may be that dumb Alexa I am trying to order from a decade

[@arturomoreno7862]

Pp

[@riccarrasquilla379]

Unfortunately, I've had nothing but trouble with the Google family of speakers. Their firmware updates are horrendous. My speakers don't play as a group because of their latest firmware updates. Lately, I can't add speakers to my Google home because of the latest firmware updates. I don't recommend Google Home or their Nest products until they resolve their firmware issues.

[@hellasboy8243]

You must be the 1%

[@riccarrasquilla379]

@@hellasboy8243 Unfortunately, I'm continuing to experience trouble with my Google speakers. What kind of luck have you had with the Google speakers?

[@Chancer]

Never had any issues.

[@rudym415]

Google ecosystem is way better than Amazon. UI is better, Amazon is clunky, especially the fire tv

[@callmeNeno]

I like talk walk butt naked in my apartment; I don’t think this product is for me

[@MegaMijit]

this guy is wayyy overly bullish/positive on smart displays. if you already have a smartphone and/or laptop, there is little to no reason to buy any smart display/speaker.

[@arifturgan]

After sono sue google... google nest group is no more good because of legal constriction

[@PhillyDjHook]

It changed nothing

[@RameshGeddam]

omg, another misleading review video. Stop reviewing products by reading specs...Give your personal experience, reviews shoulds be real experiences man.,....