Google Nest Hub: Hands on review

Although it's primarily billed as a digital picture frame, the Google Nest Hub is also a smart speaker with a touchscreen display.

Google Assistant is built-in, which means you can ask it questions and listen to music on-demand. Furthermore, the Nest Hub gives you control over all of your smart home devices.

Google Calendar and Maps are fully integrated, making it easier to structure your day. You can also get help in the kitchen with the Assistant providing recipes and talking you through the various steps.

At the end of the day, wind down with streamed content from YouTube or Netflix. When it's time for bed, the ambient light sensor will dim the screen and turn the device into a bedside clock.

Design

The Nest Hub resembles a small tablet on a stand, which is basically what it is. The stand houses the speakers, which are coated with fabric. This helps offset the potentially cheapening plastic encasing the 7-inch diagonal screen.

The Google Nest Hub as seen from the side.

Overall, the device measures just 18cm wide and 12cm high - presumably to make it usable in the smallest of rooms.

There are four colours to choose from: chalk, charcoal, aqua and sand. However, the bezel surrounding the screen is white for all options.

The screen itself has a 1024 x 600 resolution and is noticeable for its lack of camera. In its place is an Ambient EQ light sensor.

The rear of the Nest Hub has a switch used to mute (or unmute) the device, a button to increase and decrease volume, and a socket for the power lead.

Getting started

Setting the Nest Hub up is simple, and requires installing the Google Home app and granting various permissions. This is followed by a short instructional video to get you going with the basics.

In essence, swiping down from the top shows Google Home view, which displays the smart devices installed via the app.

Swiping up from the bottom displays the controls for the hub, swiping left changes the home screen to a simple digital clock-type display, and swiping right accesses the calendar, music, news and video.

Voice assistant

The Nest Hub comes with Google Assistant built in. As Google has worked hard to permeate our lives, it's not surprising that it's actually quite good at accessing and organising data from various Google services.

For example, you can ask Google to show your calendar, and the Assistant will read out your most immediate entries.

Ask for directions and you'll get an immediate response with the estimated travel time and a map.

The Google Nest Hub offers seamless integration with Google apps, such as maps.

The Assistant is also useful in the kitchen, being quick to pull up recipes from a Google search, and then helpfully reading out each ingredient, and then step, during the cooking process.

Smart home hub

The Nest Hub supports a huge array of smart devices from manufacturers such as Bosch, Electrolux, Panasonic, and Philips. The current list stands at more than 5,000 smart devices from 400 companies, but you'll need to download the Google Home app to view them all.

Swiping down on the touchscreen shows all connected devices, which are bundled into categories like lights, sockets, cameras etc. These can then be controlled individually using the touchscreen or voice commands.

The addition of a screen on the Nest Hub means that you're able to stream any connected cameras, whether they're part of a doorbell or security system.

Digital photo frame

Left to its own devices, the Nest Hub will slowly scroll through images from Google Photos (a free cloud storage service available on all types of phone), though you can swipe at any time to change the displayed image. The AI core of the hub is able to weed out the blurry photos and only show those that are in focus.

The Ambient EQ light sensor automatically adjusts the screen brightness to blend into the room, and gives the images a pleasing matt quality. If the room gets sufficiently dark, the hub assumes it's bed-time and changes into a clock.

At night the Google Nest Hub automatically dims the screen and displays a clock.

Making calls

Making calls is easy, provided that you've shared your contacts with Google. Just ask Assistant to call someone from your contacts and it will do so over your wi-fi connection. Remember though, the Nest Hub has no camera to two-way video calls aren't possible.

Calls are free but must be to a UK landline or UK mobile number. You can't phone the emergency services however, so don't rely on the Nest Hub for emergencies.

If you've lost your phone, Assistant can make it ring at full volume until you find it.

Streaming video & music

It's easy to stream both video and music with the Nest Hub, though the relatively small screen and less than ideal speakers may limit it's long-term appeal.

Video

Google Assistant will play recommended YouTube videos by default if asked to play a video.

Netflix is available to those with an account, as is All 4. Alternatively, you can use other streaming services like HBO Now. BBC iPlayer isn't available.

Music

If you're subscribed to Google Play Music (£9.99 per month), then the Next Hub uses this as the default service.

Non-subscribers get their music streamed via a stripped down YouTube interface, which is actually very pleasing to use. You do have to put up with the odd ad though.

Free music streaming on the Google Nest Hub is available via YouTube.

Alternatively, there's a free Spotify service available and you can stream music from online radio services such as Capital FM and the BBC.

The speakers are passable, but their limitations become apparent as the volume increases. The alternative for those who like their music loud is to pair the device with a separate speaker via Bluetooth.

Our verdict

If you've got hundreds of barely viewed photos stored away on your phone - and let's face it, who hasn't - then the Nest Hub quickly makes itself valuable as a way of displaying them. The picture quality is great and the ambient light sensor means the device is never distracting.

Compared with competitors, the Nest Hub is notable for not having a camera. It's debatable whether this is a good or bad thing, but it does make sense to ensure privacy in a device that's likely to be kept in a bedroom.

Video-wise, the Nest Hub is rather limited. There's a minimal number of movies available on YouTube, so a Netflix account is a must-have. In any event, the screen is a bit too small to watch for an extended period of time.

The audio services are better, with a couple of free streaming services that are easy to use. Serious music lovers will likely want to hook up a separate speaker though, as the built-in speaker isn't the best.

Overall, the Nest Hub is good value for money - especially for those with several smart devices to manage at home. It's also a useful assistant and a handy thing to have around for background music and the odd YouTube video.