Google is one of the companies offering some fun digital treats for Halloween this year, ones that you can enjoy using your phone and, for Nest owners, your smart doorbell. The content includes new AR experiences involving ghosts and skeletons, as well as special spooky doorbell ringtones for Halloween, and even new Google Assistant fun.
Google is notorious for suddenly discontinuing apps and services, even those in wide use. That practice actually applies even to hardware products, much to the disappointment of many customers. The casualty in the latter segment is its Nest-branded smart home security system which suddenly became no longer available last week. To assure customers it isn't pulling the plug, Google now publicly commits to continue supporting the Nest Secure system. It isn't, however, saying anything about updates and new features.
Apple's decision to exclude a charger in the iPhone 12 box has unsurprisingly sparked some controversy but it also ignited discussions around sustainability in the mobile world. True to its image as being a trendsetter, there are already speculations that other manufacturers like Samsung will eventually follow suit despite statements to the contrary. Google is conveniently skirting around that question and is instead focusing on its efforts to completely banish plastic from its products by 2025, at least as far as their packaging is concerned.
Smart, AI-powered, virtual assistants are undoubtedly helpful, at least to those who have actually found uses for them. For better or worse, however, all of them have to be manually "woken up", usually by a trigger phrase. It's a bit of a hassle, especially when you're already standing in front of your smart speaker or smart display. It seems that Google is playing around with a feature that lets a Nest Hub detect your presence and automatically wake up Google Assistant, a convenience that may come at the expense of some privacy.
Back in September of 2017, Google introduced the Nest Guard home alarm, a sleek little pod with buttons on it. This system was part of the Nest Secure home security system, a system that also included the Nest Tag and the Nest Detect. It would appear that Google's decided to move away from this fob-dependent system in favor of a more touchscreen and voice-dependent reality.
Nest has a new, entry-level smart thermostat, under $130 but still packing remote app control, a new motion sensor, and a slick mirror-finish. The new Nest Thermostat also introduces a different interface, doing away with the physically-rotating casing of the existing models and replacing them with a touch-sensitive scroll strip on one side.
There's no denying that the Nest Audio fills a sweet-spot in Google's smart speaker range. Long-anticipated replacement to the original Google Home, the new speaker delivers markedly better sound quality than the Nest Mini, but a much more affordable price point - not to mention smaller footprint - than the Google Home Max. No product lives in isolation, though, and the most common question I've been getting is "what about Sonos?"
For a while it seemed like smart displays would be the next big thing for the Google Assistant, but the Nest Audio proves there's still a compelling one-two punch in combining voice control and streaming music. Headed to stores today, the $99.99 smart speaker replaces the old Google Home and gets audio, processing, and style upgrades along the way.
Google has announced its new smart speaker called the Nest Audio, which is a sequel to the original Google Home. The change in prefix name for these devices happened after Google brought them under the Nest brand. How that naming ploy has changed in the past years is a story for another day, today we’ll discuss – through how things fair on paper – how the next-gen smart speaker uplifts the game for Google. And, if it’s time for you to upgrade from the first taste of smart speaker endured with Google Home.
While the incoming Pixel devices might be the main draw of Google's reveal event, the company had a number of new products to reveal before the phones. That slate of new products includes the Nest Audio, a new smart home speaker that apparently serves as a replacement to the original Google Home. The new smart speaker can be used in tandem with Nest Mini and the Nest Hub Max to create a "whole-home audio experience."
Google's new Nest Audio isn't going to get a full unveil until next week, but that hasn't stopped at least one example of the unusually-shaped smart speaker from being inadvertently sold early - and given a full unboxing. The replacement to the Google Home looks set to be one part of a packed "Launch Night In" on September 30, alongside the Pixel 5 and more, but Google just can't seem to keep a secret.
Google has scheduled an event at the end of the month but, by the time it rolls around, everyone may already know everything it has to say. From the Pixel 5 to the pillow-like new Nest speaker, Google's hardware line up has been leaking left and right. While there's still room for some of the finer details, these pair of leaks for a new Nest product and a new Chromecast pretty much confirm at least how Google's upcoming smart home devices will look on shelves or on your drawer.