CREATIVE VIEWS #The Google Home Hub
#A Holiday gift
The Google Home Hub may be small in size, but it's surprisingly useful in a lot of ways, from organizing your smart home to walking you through a complex recipe, to finding you a place to eat if your cooking efforts fall short.
The small gadget is made mighty by the great Google Assistant, and the line is blurry between where the actual hardware of the Google Home Hub shines and where the digital Google Assistant does all of the heavy lifting. To an extent, that differentiation might not matter for your buying decision. The Hub is a $149 (£139, AU$219) smart display that combines the functionality of a voice-controlled smart speaker like the original Google Home with a touchscreen you can use to look at pictures, watch videos, browse recipes, control your smart home and more.
If you're a fan of Google and want a Google-centric smart home, or if you just like the idea of a smart speaker with a screen and want to try one out for the step-by-step recipe guides, I recommend the Google Home Hub. The seamless touch controls and intuitive voice commands will even help the tech-phobic members of your family get used to it.
The differentiation between hardware and software becomes much more important if you're able to spend a little more and are willing to consider third-party smart displays alongside Google's. Both Lenovo and JBL have smart displays with Google Assistant built-in and most of the same features as the Home Hub. I still prefer Google Assistant's use of the touchscreen to Amazon's, but the new $230 (£220, AU$349) Amazon Echo Show is pretty good if you're already invested in Amazon's assistant Alexa. If not, go with the $250 Lenovo Smart Display if you want a big screen and the most stylish design. Go with the $200 JBL Link View for great sound quality. (Neither are yet available in the UK or Australia.)
The Google Home Hub is the only major smart display so far without a camera, which might be a negative for some, but privacy-minded folks will appreciate its absence. Otherwise, it offers all the same features as the other smart displays for less, which makes the Google Home Hub a cute, useful gadget at a nice value.
The Google Home Hub may be small in size, but it's surprisingly useful in a lot of ways, from organizing your smart home to walking you through a complex recipe, to finding you a place to eat if your cooking efforts fall short.
The small gadget is made mighty by the great Google Assistant, and the line is blurry between where the actual hardware of the Google Home Hub shines and where the digital Google Assistant does all of the heavy lifting. To an extent, that differentiation might not matter for your buying decision. The Hub is a $149 (£139, AU$219) smart display that combines the functionality of a voice-controlled smart speaker like the original Google Home with a touchscreen you can use to look at pictures, watch videos, browse recipes, control your smart home and more.
If you're a fan of Google and want a Google-centric smart home, or if you just like the idea of a smart speaker with a screen and want to try one out for the step-by-step recipe guides, I recommend the Google Home Hub. The seamless touch controls and intuitive voice commands will even help the tech-phobic members of your family get used to it.
The differentiation between hardware and software becomes much more important if you're able to spend a little more and are willing to consider third-party smart displays alongside Google's. Both Lenovo and JBL have smart displays with Google Assistant built-in and most of the same features as the Home Hub. I still prefer Google Assistant's use of the touchscreen to Amazon's, but the new $230 (£220, AU$349) Amazon Echo Show is pretty good if you're already invested in Amazon's assistant Alexa. If not, go with the $250 Lenovo Smart Display if you want a big screen and the most stylish design. Go with the $200 JBL Link View for great sound quality. (Neither are yet available in the UK or Australia.)
The Google Home Hub is the only major smart display so far without a camera, which might be a negative for some, but privacy-minded folks will appreciate its absence. Otherwise, it offers all the same features as the other smart displays for less, which makes the Google Home Hub a cute, useful gadget at a nice value.
The Good The
Google Home Hub's touchscreen is responsive and works well in
combination with Google Assistant, whether you ask for help on a recipe
or to check what's on your calendar. Pictures and videos look
particularly crisp thanks to an ambient light sensor that adapts the
screen brightness and warmth to match the room. A control panel screen
makes it easy to organize and control your smart home devices.
The Bad The
sound quality is fine for background music, but nowhere near the level
of other smart displays like the Amazon Echo Show or the JBL Link View.
It's more on par with the diminutive Google Home Mini. The integration
with the Nest Hello Video Doorbell needs work.
The Bottom Line The
cameraless, petite Google Home Hub will blend into any room in your
home. It's affordable, and quite useful as a digital assistant
(especially in the kitchen), a photo frame and a smart home control
panel.
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