OPINION : There was a point in my fresh house journey where I kitted my home out with Google Nest Home voguish speaker unit and smart display exclusively . For a short period , Google Home ruled with some canny features , such as the ability to group a smart speaker into a group with other devices .
Once grouped , I could do childlike tasks without make to name machine . For example , say , “ OK Google , ferment on lights ” would turn on the lights in the same room as the voguish speaker .
It seemed as though Google Home had a hopeful future . However , as Google so often seems to do , it has lost focusing on its product , in particular Nest .
Now , my Google speakers are turned off and demote to drawers , turned on just when I need to quiz something . They do n’t form a fundamental part of my voguish home , and I ’ve desolate the Google Home app outside of examination , as Alexa , Apple Home and SmartThings do what I need and are presently better .
No new smart speakers
wait back at my Google Nest smart speaker reviews , I was surprised to see just how long ago it has been since newfangled model were set up : theNest Miniwas back in 2019 , and was a minor rehash of theGoogle Home Mini(2018 ) ; the latestNest Hub ( 2ndGeneration ) , was released in 2021 , but was a minor rehash of the 2018 Cartesian product ; and theGoogle Nest Hub Maxwas launched back in 2019 .
While there ’s no need to refresh twist pointlessly to give the depression that something unexampled has happened , Google almost seems to have alone given up on the Nest hub line - up .
In fact , the only material new machine was the 2023Pixel Tablet , which was a lozenge that could dock to give similar feature to a Nest Hub ( only not so good for saucy home control ) .
Amazon , in comparison , has had regular refreshes of its product line - up and has a across-the-board reach of equipment to suit every case of office , whether that ’s anEcho Dottucked off in a living room , anEcho Hubin the hall for smart home control condition , or anEcho Show 21that gives a full Fire TV experience on top of everything else . I discover it much easier to chance an Alexa equipment to fit into my home than I do a Google one .
The end of Nest accounts
When Google bought Nest , it was a leading smart home company . Years later on , Nest has fallen behind the competition , not help by Google ’s determination to kill off Nest accounts in favor of Google ones , anad impel people away from the Nest app . These modification really put me off Google Home as an ecosystem .
I had Google speakers around because I had theNest Hellovideo buzzer ( rebranded as the Nest Doorbell Wired ) and aNest Learning Thermostat ( 3rdGen)running in my office . I imagine the Nest app was bright , and I could connect my Nest gadget to my Google Home account , which I was running using a G Suite accounting host on a personal domain .
Then , Google decided to make people migrate from Nest accounts to Google account and made new Nest products that only make for inside Google Home . That sound finely in theory , but I could n’t transmigrate my Nest account to my G Suite score , as that ’s not supported . So , I had to make an entirely new Google Account to use Google Home , which meant transmigrate everything from one account to a new one .
Then , when I did deploy the novel buzzer , theNest Doorbell ( battery ) , I find that it was low-down resolution than the senior model , and the Google Nest app was worse than the Nest one it replaced .
That was enough to convince me to switch to a Ring buzzer , which integrates nicely with Echo Show devices . Not to observe that the Ring ecosystem is just than the Nest one , with a smarter app and a tolerant alternative of products , including the brilliantRing Alarm .
That is a good example of how Amazon handle acquisitions compared to Google . When Amazon buys a fellowship , such as Ring or Eero , it lets its acquisition grow and contend , produce new Cartesian product and services while continuing to abide survive customers . When Google does the same matter , development seems to slow down .
I ’ve had other issues with Google Home , too : for some ground , I have multiple home called ‘ Temp ’ , each full of the same devices that exist in my factual domicile , and I have no idea why they were create .
A lack of confidence
All of this is not to say that Google has n’t made some plus changes . The houseclean - up user interface is an improvement on where the app was a few long time ago , and Automations are much easier to make than they were . Hardware support is also excellent , both via World Wide Web accounts interchangeable to Alexa ’s Skills , and with Matter , with the most late Nest Hub products supporting the protocol alongside Thread .
My principal issue is that I do n’t have confidence in Google Home , thanks to the wide - tangle change made a few old age ago and the want of investment in fresh product . I ’d be disquieted that if I switched back to Google , more changes could come or the hardware I rely on could be break off .
As it stomach , I find Apple Home the honest for most automations , as it can do thing like turn off an alarm system mechanically , and its besotted integration with iOS means my most - used devices are a swipe forth in Control Center .
I find Amazon Alexa the best for articulation control and prefer its range of bright speakers , and it ’s utilitarian for picking up computer hardware that Apple Home does n’t hold up .
SmartThings is still in play in my house , running some Z - Wave equipment , including a sassy lock , while it ’s invaluable for fresh Samsung appliances . Between these three platforms , I can do everything I desire , and there ’s no reason to use Google Home at the second .
Can AI make a difference?
Yet , that could all change asGemini , Google ’s AI assistant , comes online . Currently in Public Preview and requiring a Nest subscription , Gemini is coming to existing Google smart speaker and will be a part of Google Assistant .
With Gemini , Nest cameras wo n’t just be capable to discern the deviation between a person and an creature , for example , they ’ll also be able to understand what ’s happening and give you a unforesightful verbal description . The case yield is that Gemini can mark a telecasting clip telling you that the dog is dig in the backyard .
Clips can be search using natural terminology , such as inquire if the Thomas Kid left their bike in the drive or seek to come up motorcar pluck into the effort .
Gemini will also be capable to help create automations : you typecast in what you desire to happen , and Gemini will make the like mechanization for you . That ’s potentially very exciting and canny .
And , as Gemini will work with existing hardware , those old Google Nest verbaliser may still have life in them yet .
