Customer Ratings & Reviews

I truly can’t give a true review, as I haven’t been able to activate it totally. There were no instructions per se (very little) so I went online to get instructions. Working on it. My brother has one in Texas and his (bigger) was great so I decided to get one. However, I got the smaller one. Sorry, can’t rate it yet.

Always keep me updated about the weather news and more!!

INTRO Whether you are invested in the Google ecosystem or just wanting to dabble in smart home tech, the newest Google Home hub is a great addition. While you aren’t getting it for it’s sound quality, you are getting a smart home hub packed with features. Not to mention a good price point. I wish the screen were bigger (and you can get the bigger model, sure) but I think the price/size is a nice balance. I think it’s important to mention my setup, as it is the lens in which I view the quality of any tech device. I’m heavily invested in the Google ecosystem and have multiple smart speakers, Chromecasets (both the audio and video versions) as well as smart lights and smart cameras. I wouldn’t suggest you have to have all these types of smart devices to enjoy the new hub, but it certainly is nice. Of course, I can always use my voice to change my settings (turn off lights, stream music, etc.) having a screen adds an entirely new dimension. I can now view my Arlo security camera feeds, and get an idea of what lights are on in what rooms (including their respective brightness and color), all without having to pull my phone out. Of course, your enjoyment and amount of use you’ll get all depends on your particular setup. IN THE BOX Pretty basic, the 7 inch hub, and a charger. I’m surprised at how small the box is, it almost seems like it doesn’t fit, but it does. SETUP It’s pretty basic and exactly the same as any other Google home device. For those that are new to smart homes, all you need to do is make sure you have the Google Home app installed on your phone (iPhone or Android). From their, you the plus sign at the top left of your screen to add it to your home (of course, after you plug it in). From there, your phone should find it, and you’ll be prompted to take a picture of the QR code shown on the screen itself. After that, you can name it, and assign it to a room. If this is your first time setting up a smart home product, I highly recommend assigning it to a room in the event you add other smart devices at a later time. Doing so with each and every device helps organize your devices and makes it easier to use your voice (i.e. turn off the lights in the living room). There will of course be the tutorials, where onscreen prompts will guide you on how to control your hub and how to swipe from screen to screen etc. FEATURES As I mentioned, the features available to you depends a lot on your home setup and what services you use. For example, if you use Google Duo for video calls, you’ll be able to use the hub to make calls (NOTE: this hub DOES NOT have a camera, so your calls will be audio only). IF you subscribe to a music service, like Pandora or YouTube Music, then you’ll be able to stream music. If you don’t have an account with any of those services, then obviously you won’t be able to stream music. But if you don’t subscribe or use these services now, there’s nothing stopping you from signing up for them (in some instances for free) to get the most out of your hub. I will give a run down of what I use the hub for, and what else it has to offer (don’t quote me on an exhaustive list). Tracking sleep, streaming music, streaming videos (but not from every streaming service), showing Google searches (think recipe instructions), playing games (I haven’t done that yet), controlling smart devices in your house. EASE OF USE I find using the hub to be somewhat intuitive, but it’s different from my Google Pixel. It’s a bit jarring at first because the gesture swipes aren’t the same as my phone, but once you play with it for a few moments (and watch the tutorials) it all starts to make sense. STREAMING MUSIC The sound quality is nothing to write home about. It’s acceptable, but don’t expect high end audio. It gets loud enough for small rooms, but don’t expect room filling sound. At the end of the day, I stream music to Google speakers for the sake of convenience, not because of sound quality. That’s not an indictment, it’s a reality. Just don’t expect the best sound. CONTROLLING SMART DEVICES Putting aside voice commands, the hub puts all of your smart home devices at your fingertips. Frankly, given all the devices I have, I find this invaluable and frankly, one the biggest reasons to get it. It’s one thing to say “turn off lights in X room”, but to have to do it multiple times is annoying. Being able to look at a screen and to see what lights are on where, and toggling them is nice. It’s also nice to be able to see my security camera feeds (which is obviously impossible with the standard Google Nest speaker). SLEEP TRACKING The new touted feature is sleep tracking. As a snorer who bothers my wife, this feature was intriguing but not the purpose of me wanting this hub. I can say that it works, sort of. I have to admit, I can only compare it to my Fitbit, and while the “numbers” (like how long I was asleep) isn’t the exact same, it’s relatively close. Sleep tracking works by using Google’s Soli sensor (which is like a radar device). When you set up your hub, you have to set the time you want to go to bed and go to sleep. Once that time hits, and you get in bed, the screen dims and the tracking begins. My issues with the sleep tracking are primarily that the screen has to stay on my nightstand, facing me. The screen dims so it doesn’t keep me awake, but I prefer to have the screen of my hub in a central room in the house, like my kitchen, so I can use it for recipes. But back to the tracking, it also records your snoring (if you snore) which can serve as proof if you don’t believe your spouse when he/she claims you were snoring the night before. It gives you an idea of your movements, again, tracking you with the Soli radar chip. My problem is I don’t know what to do with the data. It won’t magically make you get better sleep. But it’s value is helping to recognize problems, like snoring, and holding you accountable about the time you go to sleep. It’s sort of a nice feature, but shouldn’t be the reason why you buy it. And again, there’s something odd about having a bright screen so close to you on your night stand (even though it dims when you’re sleeping). PRIVACY CONCERNS I have to mention privacy. I’m not one that’s too worried about privacy in smart home devices, but I completely understand the concerns of others. I think it’s important to note that this hub does NOT have a camera. And it has a physical mute button on the back that you can easily find and toggle on or off. And the best thing is when it is muted, you get a notification on your screen so you know for certain if the microphone is on or off. Google claims to only store sleep tracking data on the device itself. I can only take Google at its word on that. But assuming that’s true, it’s super easy to delete that data. In fact, if you look at your sleep data in the morning, there’s a button right there that gives you the option to delete it. Putting aside any broad concerns or skepticism about Google’s privacy problems, the hub seems to take it seriously, so you can be confident that it’s not listening or otherwise saving data you don’t want it to. CONCLUSION This is a terrific all around smart home hub. Even if it’s the only smart thing you have, it’s nice to have to play music, look at recipes, make hands free speaker calls. And if you have smart home devices to control, it’s even more versatile. The sleep tracking is a nice addition, but it still requires you to take action with the data it gives you.

Great product! I would recomend this everytime. No issues found.

Works great in the kitchen area for timers and alarms and other tasks

Been always google fan and this product looks great been using since i got it.

Works as described. Linked to orher google device's

Have always wanted somethinglike this. Don't know how I got along with out it

This item is a convenient way of getting information. It is something that I definitely would recommend highly.

Works wonderfully. Exactly what I was expecting when I bought it, 100% would recommend.

nest hub is an average product, I purchased to work with google nest doorbell. Not as advertised

Great hub for home it great in music an information

I like it but only thing is the sleep sense Turns on out of nowhere

My screen died on my oder unit. I was waiting for black friday to replace it.

Love it! They make great gifts for the entire family.

Very good product and responsive and worked out well in bedroom or kitchen

Can we get much higherrrrrr sooo highghhhhhhhhhhhh

I got it on a sale. I totally love it and its a great gift

Took this on vacation and could tune into our Nest doorbell and thermostat

Love this. . .