Latest news with #NestHub
Android Authority
16-05-2025
- Android Authority
Something is bricking Nest Hub smart displays, and users aren't getting much help from Google
TL;DR Owners of the first-gen Nest Hub report recent device failures, freezing up during the boot process. Attempts to factory reset the hardware have not been successful at restoring operation. It's possible a recent firmware update may play a role, but Google has yet to confirm anything. How long do you expect your devices to last? With something like a phone, you've got the threat of physical damage hanging over it basically all the time, need to worry about its battery deciding to go all explosive on you, and had better make sure your manufacturer is keeping up with security updates to keep hackers at bay. But for smart home tech that plugs in, doesn't leave the safety of your house, and has only limited access to your accounts, is it really that wrong for consumers to expect their devices to largely just keep on working? A growing number of Nest Hub users are grumbling about that just now, as a wave of failures appears to be hitting the smart display, and Google does not seem to be doing much about it. The Nest Hub debuted as the Google Home Hub all the way back in 2018, and it's been reasonably well supported over the years, getting a major software refresh as it moved to Fuchsia and continuing to act as an affordable solution for controlling your smart home. But over the course of the past week or so, we've been spotting reports of first-gen Nest Hub models getting stuck on their boot screen, and failing to operate. Hub owner Angela Hopkins got a thread running in Google's Nest Community, and Reddit users like Gabi_Social have been reporting the same issues on the site's Google Home sub. Affected units appear to hang on the Google 'G' when booting, and attempts to factory reset the hardware seem to be fruitless. In that Reddit account, the owner contacted Google support for help, only to be turned away because their Nest Hub warranty was four years expired. There are lots of different ways that old, no-longer-supported products can die. If devices rely on connection to an external server, for instance, the company running it may eventually decide to power things down. And while it sucks when that happens, at least that's a conscious decision that affects all users equally. What Nest Hub users are experiencing here, however, has more of the hallmarks of a firmware update gone wrong, which while equally ignoble, is a much more frustrating way for a product to die. On Google's Nest firmware page, the company shows version 26.20250116.103.2900 as being the most recent release for the Nest Hub, and it appears this software started heading out within the past month. We've reached out to Google in the hopes of learning more about what could possibly be causing these problems, and to see if there's any way for owners to get their smart displays operational again. We'll update you with anything we hear back. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Apple's rumored smart home hub has reportedly been delayed
It may be a while still before we see the smart home hub Apple is rumored to be working on. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the company has postponed the announcement of the upcoming product due to the issues it's run into developing its 'smarter' Siri. Gurman reported last month that the release of Apple's upgraded Siri may be delayed, and Apple confirmed as much in a statement to Daring Fireball last week, saying it expects to roll out Siri's more personalized features 'in the coming year.' The smart home hub, according to Gurman, 'to an extent, relies on the delayed Siri capabilities.' Gurman previously reported that the first version of the smart home display could be revealed as soon as March. It would be a competitor to Amazon's Echo line of devices and Google's Nest Hub. While a March release is looking unlikely, Gurman reports that Apple is now allowing some employees to test it at home.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Yahoo
Best Smart Displays of 2025
There are many smart devices on the market that can enhance your home, such as smart speakers, security cameras or light bulbs, transforming your comfy home into something comfier and smarter. But controlling everything can be a little daunting, which is why a smart display is a good investment. Plus, the displays themselves also have unique and useful features that can work on their own. There are plenty of displays to choose from: big players like Google and Amazon dominate the market, with each releasing numerous generations of gadgets -- each better than the last -- that have made them favorite smart display choices for many. Most recently, we've seen the Amazon Echo Show 8 and the Amazon Echo Hub, with the Echo Hub adding simplicity to controlling the smart home. Google has the Google Nest Hub (formerly the Google Home Hub) as well as the Nest Hub Max, which adds face- and gesture-tracking capabilities along with a larger screen. You can also check out the Google Pixel Tab, which doubles as a smart home display and Android tablet. However, to identify the best, CNET's experts tested and reviewed smart displays for the home. We worked with a collection of smart devices, watched videos, set alarm clocks and more. Whether you want to add a smart display to your existing setup or are just starting your smart home and find the touchscreen appealing, here are the best models available. We'll update this list periodically. Whether you want to add a smart display to your existing setup or you're just starting your smart home and you find the touchscreen appealing, here are the best models available now. We'll update this list periodically. The latest version of the Nest Hub with Google services arrived in 2021, and it's a great entry point for the category. It's the smartest and best overall, making the low price even more appealing. Thanks to the built-in Google Assistant, the Nest Hub responds to all of the same voice command options as the Google Home Mini smart speaker. The Google smart display touchscreen is a little small at seven inches, but the adaptive brightness makes pictures look particularly great. Google will even customize a slideshow of family pics as your screensaver. You can also control your smart home devices, like your smart doorbell, with an intuitively designed control panel. Unlike most of the other smart displays (and unlike its big brother, the Nest Hub Max), the Nest Hub doesn't have a camera, but that might be a bonus if you have privacy concerns and want to put it on your bedside table. The second-generation smart home hub model includes Sleep Sensing and Quick Gestures thanks to Google's Soli mini radar. The colorful fabric design on this Google Assistant smart display allows the device to blend in anywhere, although the tablet touchscreen comes in handy if you want step-by-step help through a recipe in the kitchen. See at Best Buy For a long time, the Nest Hub occupied pride of place on this list, thanks to its photo display aesthetic, pleasant user interface and more naturalistic voice assistant. It lacks the built-in camera for easy video calls found on the Echo Show 8. Add that to Amazon Alexa's growing smarts, and the Show 8 has been upgraded to share the "best display" honor with the Nest Hub. Both are great smart displays. With the Show 8, Alexa will respond to your voice control and voice commands, plus you can use the tablet screen to play games, browse recipes, watch movies and Prime Video trailers, control your smart home and more. The 8-inch touchscreen is small enough to stay out of the way but big enough that you won't have to squint. In the mornings, Amazon's sunrise alarm feature can help ease you out of your sleep with a screen that starts getting brighter 15 minutes before your scheduled wake-up time. The camera also comes with a physical shutter for privacy. Google Assistant still makes better use of the touchscreen than Amazon -- in particular, the cooking directions and smart home controls are better -- but the Echo Show 8 is close enough, and it comes with a camera for video chats. In short, the Show 8 is Amazon's best smart display yet. See at Amazon If you want a 10-inch touchscreen powered by Alexa, the third-generation Amazon Echo Show 10 is the latest and greatest in smart display technology. With a motorized base, the Echo Show 10 can follow you around the room during video calls or while you're watching video content on the device. The 10.1-inch tablet HD display looks good, and the device comes with a 13-megapixel front-facing camera, plus a physical shutter for privacy. Amazon also added adaptive color to this Echo device model. You can use the Echo Show 10 as a smart home security camera and view it remotely in the Alexa app. Group video calling is supported for up to seven people, and Drop In lets you make a call directly to your display from anywhere with the Alexa app. Occupancy and vacancy-based routines can trigger other smart home devices when the Echo Show 10 senses someone entering or leaving the room. This Alexa device is Amazon's priciest smart home hub display and the most feature-filled smart screen. We think most people will still get by just fine with the Echo Show 8 for considerably less money, but if you're after Amazon's boldest smart display yet with the impressive sound to go with it, this is the way to go. That room-filling sound comes from 2x 1-inch tweeters and a 3-inch woofer to ensure that the audio from the Echo Show 10 is just as elevated as the display itself. See at Amazon The Amazon Echo Hub is truly a smart display because though it does have speakers, you likely won't use them for a party. Instead, the 8-inch display is designed to be a central control point for managing your favorite Alexa smart devices. The easy-to-navigate dashboard allows you to control individual devices or an entire room. This device has been great in my home, with my wife and children less familiar with everything that is set up in our home. This way there's a simple way to see what smart devices are available. In addition to being a smart home management device, it also functions as an Alexa speaker, allowing you to use voice commands to do everything else you'd expect from a typical smart speaker. The Echo Hub can even be a digital photo frame to show all your favorite memories. But thanks to sensors on the device's front, as you approach it, the screen will show you smart home devices and be ready to help you out. See at Amazon Google Nest Hub Max: At over $200, the Nest Hub Max ups the Google Assistant's screen size from 7 to 10 inches and offers better sound quality than before. The real story is the addition of a sophisticated camera that can track movements and gestures, or identify faces to show you personalized info on the screen. It's an impressive combination of hardware and software, but the Google Nest Hub Max comes with privacy concerns. For most people, we think the original, camera-free Nest Hub is a lot closer to the smart display sweet spot. Amazon Echo Show 5: The Echo Show 5 is the cheapest of Amazon's displays, and it features most of the perks of the Show 8. Its resolution is lower than the Show 8 and its screen is smaller. While it features a tap-to-snooze alarm feature that makes it perfect for a bedside alarm, its sound quality isn't close compared to its bigger siblings. Amazon Echo Show (second-gen): The original Echo Show helped popularize the smart display back in 2017 and the second-gen Show improved on it in every way with better design, sound quality and a more useful screen. It's a good premium counterpart to the attractive $40 entry point of the Echo Show 5, although it's a little tricky to find in stock at the moment. The second-gen Show has great sound quality and a 10-inch screen. The touchscreen just isn't as useful as similar models with Google Assistant. Lenovo Smart Display 10: If you want a 10-inch touchscreen powered by Google Assistant, Lenovo's smart display looks elegant and features the same smarts as the Nest Hub. There are three different Lenovo smart display models with 10-, 8- and 7-inch screens. The 10-inch Lenovo smart display has a bamboo back that's particularly well-suited for the kitchen. Lenovo Smart Clock: This smart alarm trims out a lot of the functionality of smart displays. There's no camera and you can't watch videos. You can customize alarms and scroll through screens with weather and commute info. Thanks to a recent update, you can also look at personal pics and the Smart Clock will scroll through selected albums from Google Photos as your screensaver. It's cute and tailored for your nightstand, but it's more of an upgraded alarm clock than a full smart display. We have options on this list that offer both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa as the voice assistant available to help with questions and smart home controls. It is important to pick the smart display that best matches what you already use. If you have an Echo device already in your home, then going with an Echo Show will seamlessly integrate into your home. But if you have a Google Home device, then you'll want a Google Assistant display. If you currently have neither, then go with the one that satisfies your personal preferences best. If you plan to use the smart display primarily for controlling your smart home, and you use Alexa, then you'll likely want to go for the Echo Hub. But if you want more of an all-around device that will work great for watching videos, then perhaps a Google Hub Max, Echo Show 10, or Echo Show 15 would best suit your needs. You'll want to consider where you'd like to place this smart display. While something like the Echo Show 8 (2023) or Google Nest Hub (2nd gen) don't need much room, the Echo Show 10 does. But if you go with the Echo Hub or Echo Show 15, you can mount those on the wall with the included hardware to free up more space on your table or counter. For smart home users, the smart display will function as a sort of visual dashboard, showing you all your connected devices and their statuses. You can view cameras and doorbells on your smart display screen, as well as make video calls, watch online content, view recipes and ask general knowledge questions. There are other fun features like books, games, puzzles and holiday easter eggs. Smart displays also double as digital photo frames and helpful clocks and calendars. A smart display admittedly doesn't do as much as your Android tablet or iPad. You won't be able to download any apps or view every single streaming platform. It isn't portable, either. Smart displays are focused on being hubs or command centers for your smart home. It's a device you'll plant on one shelf or countertop and likely leave it there for its entire life. Well, that depends. If you're interested in smart home tech, a smart display is a helpful way to view everything you're setting up and controlling within your home. If you like making video calls, smart displays are a good way to do so without sacrificing your phone or laptop battery. If a smart home isn't really your cup of tea or if you're hesitant to put more cameras, microphones and voice assistants in your home (we wouldn't blame you), then a tablet or small laptop will meet your needs.
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Yahoo
7 Ways You Aren't Using Your Smart Display (but Should Be)
Smart displays like Nest Hubs or Echo Shows offer an enticing device combo: They slap a large touchscreen onto a smart speaker, allowing you to give voice commands and interact with the screen anywhere in your home -- like a kitchen, garage, gaming room or living room. But people can find it difficult to use smart displays in helpful ways when they could just use a smart speaker or pull out their phone. But that's doing modern smart displays a disservice: In our testing, we've found helpful ways to use these displays around the home to do things other devices can't. Here are some of our favorite ways to use smart displays. Read more: The Best Smart Home Devices of 2025 "Hey, Google, show me my smart thermostat," I tell my Nest Hub, and it brings up a working interface for my Nest Thermostat 4. I don't just see the temperature, I can also adjust the thermostat at a touch without ever going near it. That's really useful on mornings that are a bit chillier than expected (put a smart display by your bed and you can do it without getting up), or if the kitchen has become a heat zone and it's time to cool things down. Thermostat interactions like these are a daily convenience and should work with most support thermostats. If you're cooking up a storm, you probably already have a recipe in mind, planned out, and bookmarked on your computer. But there are moments when you want to look up a side recipe on the fly and you're short on both time and hands. We've found we use smart displays for recipe lookups particularly when it comes to drink and cocktail ratios we can't quite remember, as well as side dishes we aren't especially familiar with. Don't underestimate the usefulness of bringing up pictures of perfectly roasted radishes or the right shade of stirred roux with only a quick voice command. Sure, you can set any timer with a smart speaker or phone command, no screen needed. But if you're juggling multiple timers at once (like for multiple kitchen projects or reminders), a smart display adds a helpful benefit. You can simultaneously view all the timers you've set -- the display will show them automatically -- and how long they have left. You don't have to guess when you're multitasking, and that's surprisingly useful. Today's smart displays can pair with all kinds of video services, from VLC to the ESPN app, as well as with streaming services like Amazon Prime, YouTube TV, and Hulu. If you have a subscription to live sports, you can bring them up on your smart display and keep track of the games wherever you are. That's a lot of fun if you're working on a project in the garage, kitchen or study but still want to keep up on the important plays and scores with more than just a radio. Smart displays can pair with any supported home security camera, allowing you to switch to a live view of the cam with a quick voice command. That's especially useful for nanny cam–like devices. If your kids (or your beloved pets) are sleeping in another room, playing outside or fighting over the TV, you can keep an eye on them from a separate spot with a smart display. A smart display in a bedroom isn't just a fancy alarm clock. It comes with a surprisingly useful capability when you're ready to go to bed: Night-light Google apps and can turn the screen into a peaceful, relaxing display with a countdown to turn off (make sure your display is set to auto-dim when not in use), making it a great way to fall asleep. Note: I don't suggest using YouTube videos for this purpose, since they tend to come with very unrelaxing ads that pop up at the worst times, but if you want to, you can find lots of night-light videos there as well. This one surprised me, but it's a very handy use of a smart display set up near a TV or gaming station. If you get stuck on a game or want more info on a particular part (like a map, quest steps, puzzle solution or build guide), you can look up videos and tutorials on the smart display with just a couple of commands. This is far easier and more useful than trying to use your smartphone, which is often too small for such tasks. The same trick works for looking up movie details or actors without disturbing the action on your primary screen. Best Smart Speakers for 2025: We Tested Alexa, Google, Apple and Sonos See at Cnet We also recommend stopping by the latest news on Apple's upcoming, possibly delayed smart display, how to pick the best smart display if you don't have one, and the best 200 Alexa commands.
The Independent
06-02-2025
- The Independent
Do smart video doorbells need a chime to work properly?
A conventional doorbell often uses a physical bell, or a digital equivalent with a rudimentary speaker, to make the universally recognised 'ding-dong' sound when a visitor presses the button. But this isn't how smart video doorbells work. Instead video doorbells like those made by Ring, Nest, Yale and others play a sound to the visitor, so they know that the button works, but then alert the resident via a smartphone application, not a bell. Some systems open a video call between the phone and the doorbell's integrated camera, speaker and microphone. Others send a notification, which can be tapped on to open an app with a live video feed from the doorbell. This notification can also often be sent to other devices, such as smart speakers like the Amazon Echo, smart displays like the Nest Hub, and sometimes to TV-streaming devices like the Apple TV or Google TV Streamer. When the button is pressed, the Alexa of your Echo speaker will say someone is at the door, or play a custom message if you prefer. The Google TV Streamer and Apple TV can, with a compatible doorbell, make the announcement on your TV and show a live video feed from the doorbell floating in the corner of your television screen. But what if you want an old-fashioned doorbell chime? These are available, but are rarely included in the box when you buy a video doorbell. Ring does not include one with any of its doorbells, and neither does Nest or Yale. Instead, they are sold separately, usually for around £20 to £40 depending on the brand and the specification of the chime. The chimes are small devices that connect to any plug socket, then connect either to your Wi-Fi network or directly (and wirelessly) to the doorbell itself. Once set up, the chime will make a ding-dong sound (or several other ringtones are often available) when a visitor presses the button. That way, you'll be alerted to the visitor via your smartphone and/or smart speaker, but also by the chime. This can be useful if your phone is in a different room or set to a silent or do-not-disturb mode. Some smart doorbell chimes also pack additional features. As well as making a noise, the Ring Chime can alert you to motion spotted by the doorbell camera, as well as presses of the button. The pricier Ring Chime Pro acts as a chime, but also functions as a nightlight and a Wi-Fi extender, helping to improve the wireless connection between your Ring devices and router. Can a smart video doorbell use an existing doorbell chime? Yes, but often not in the way you might expect. The Nest Doorbell (wired) can be wired into your existing chime, so that it functions like a regular doorbell on top of all of the usual phone and speaker notifications. Other video doorbells come with all of the fuses and connections needed to attach to your existing doorbell wiring, but this wiring is used to provide the video doorbell with power (since the chime gets its power from the mains) and not to make the chime ring. If you choose to install your video doorbell this way, it no longer has to rely on its own battery, which tends to need recharging every few months, and instead receives constant power from the chime's own power supply. With the exception of the Nest video doorbell, this prevents the chime from working, so if you want a 'ding-dong' sound you'll still have to buy one of the new wireless chimes mentioned earlier. To conclude, no, smart video doorbells do not need a chime to function properly, and most don't even come with one in the box. Wireless chimes are sold separately, however, and it is possible to install several if your home is large enough to require more than one. Many video doorbells can optionally be powered by the wiring of your existing chime, but doing so will likely remove the chime's original function.
