Google has announced the second-generation Nest Hub with Sleep Sensing, Motion Sense, and an improved speaker. There's a slight jump in price, but the improvements will make the new Nest Hub an attractive smart display for many.
A "Smarter" Smart Display
Google announced the second-generation Nest Hub in a post on The Keyword. The new Nest Hub has landed around two years after the original Nest Hub. The new Hub improves in all key areas over its predecessors while also adding Sleep Sensing.
The design of the new Nest Hub remains the same as the original one. It features an edgeless glass to protect the 7-inch display, which Google claims is easy to clean. The smart display is made from recycled materials and features 54 percent recycled post-consumer plastic.
Google has improved the speaker output on the second-generation Nest Hub using the same technology as the Nest Audio, which allows for 50 percent more bass.
Taking another cue from the Nest Audio and Nest Mini, Google has added a dedicated on-device machine learning chip to the Nest Hub. This allows for faster processing of frequently used Assistant commands, thereby improving the overall experience. For now, this feature is only available in the United States.
The Nest Hub can act as a smart home hub thanks to Thread support. This will allow the device to communicate easily with other low-power Thread-compatible accessories in your home. It can also act as a router for these accessories and allow them to connect to the internet.
There are also Quick Gestures allowing you to play or pause content on the Nest Hub by simply tapping the air in front of the display. You can use the gestures to snooze an alarm or stop a timer as well.
Sleep Sensing Powered by Soli
The highlight of the second-generation Nest Hub is the addition of Sleep Sensing. This is an opt-in feature that analyzes how you are sleeping based on your movement and breathing. All this is done without using any cameras or wearable devices.
The Nest Hub achieves this by using Motion Sense that is powered by Google's Soli tech. The Soli radar analyzes the sleeping pattern of the person sleeping closest to the display. The company used the same tech on the Pixel 4 series for face unlock and other Motion Sense gestures.
By using the built-in microphones, temperature, and ambient light sensors, the Nest Hub can also detect light and temperature changes in the room. Using this data, the smart display can analyze how such changes impact your sleep cycle.
The Nest Hub will provide a personalized sleep summary every morning. Alternatively, you can simply ask the Nest Hub, "Hey Google, how did I sleep?" to view your sleep summary. This data will also be available in the Google Fit app on your smartphone.
Based on the data collected, Sleep Sensing will provide bedtime schedules and other suggestions based on your sleeping pattern. The suggestions have been developed by a team of sleep scientists and input from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Google is offering Sleep Sensing as a free preview on the second-generation Nest Hub until next year. The company is also looking at ways to integrate Fitbit's sleep tracking feature with Sleep Sensing.
Keeping privacy in mind, Google ensures that all coughing and sneezing data are processed on-device on the new Nest Hub. Motion Sense can also only detect motion, and it is not capable of detecting your face or body.
There's even a physical hardware switch to disable the microphone on the Nest Hub. There are multiple options to disable various aspects of Sleep Sensing. Google also promises not to use any data collected using Sleep Sensing to show personalized ads.
The New Nest Hub: Price and Availability
Google is offering the new Nest Hub in Chalk, Charcoal, Sand, and Mist colors. It is available for pre-order for $99.99 in the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, and France at the Google Store and other major retailers.
Image Credit: Google