Google Launches The New Home Hub With Nest Integration
Google has launched a new addition to their Google Home devices called the Home Hub. It is a tablet/dock hybrid smart device with a built-in screen. The device can run most Google apps like weather, YouTube, etc. The Home Hub can directly play videos from YouTube. The smart device also acts as a centralised control system for other smart devices that are installed in a modern day smart house like speakers and lights. Instead of controlling different smart devices from their proprietary apps, the Home Hub can control them from a unified interface.
Features
Google has intentionally skipped the addition of a camera to the Home Hub. They believe some users might feel uncomfortable in front of a device that is directly pointing a camera towards them. The new device has an Ambient EQ sensor that can determine the ambient light and adjust the brightness of the Home Hub during different times of the day.
The Google HomeHub has a “Voice-Match” feature. With this feature, the Home Hub can determine which member of a family it is interacting with it. And it will give out results based upon the member’s preferences and relevance. It also has Nest Integration. Nest is a centralised thermostat that can control temperatures in different areas in a home or office. It has a quick status drawer which the company is calling HomeView. It can be pulled by a simple swipe from the top of the screen which allows viewing the status of different smart devices across your home. With this feature, Home Hub can remotely control Nest and other smart devices.
Google Home Hub also acts as a digital photo frame and displays pictures taken from the android phones or google cloud of the home-owner. The smart device will come with a 6-month free subscription of Youtube Premium which is an ad-free version of video streaming service.
Price & Availability:
The Google Home Hub has a price tag of 149$ (Rs 11,000 approximately). It is available for pre-order starting today on the Google online store. It will be available in retail stores from 22nd October in the USA, UK and Australia. Google is yet to announce the availability of this device in India.
