just an expensive photo frame (no, joke)

In October 2018, Google introduced its first smart screen, the Google Home Hub. I bought the Home Hub and you can read my experiences with this device in this article.

Google Home-series

During Google I / O 2016, the Google Home site was officially unveiled. It's a smart speaker that can play music, control smart devices like Nest Cameras and Philips Hue lamps via voice control. The device can also stream the Netflix series via Chromecast and also features the digital assistant called Google Assistant.

You can ask him all kinds of questions about the weather, the calculation solution or ask him to check the alarm. to put. A year later, Google extends the series with Google Home Mini and Google Home Max, a small and high-end version of Google Home. The Google Home Hub, a smart display, was added in 2018.

What's a smart display?

The smart display is a new category of products in the world of intelligent speakers. It's just a smart speaker including a digital assistant but with a screen. So you can not only use your smart thermostat via voice commands, but also via the touch screen, but also watch YouTube videos and video calls.

Echo Show from Amazon was the first smart screen in 2017 and soon several manufacturers have followed with their own variant. such as Lenovo, Archos, JBL, LG and many others. All of these smart screens use a digital assistant, whether it's Alexa's from Amazon, Microsoft's Cortana or Google's Assistant. The Google Home Hub is Google's first smart display.

Google Home Hub in Various Colors (click on the image)

Habitat and Design

The Google Home Hub is integrated a simple white box containing the hub, a US adapter (15W) and the usual warranty and boot booklets. The device is available in the colors Chalk, Charcoal, Aqua and Sand and this color is only available on the back and back visible screen.

The foot is covered with the same recognizable fabric as the Google Home speakers. The screen has the same white edges at the front of the screens. The 7-inch LCD is fixed to the foot and is not tilting.

Two remote microphones and the light sensor are located at the top of the hub screen. Remote microphones ensure that the Hub can hear you wherever you are. So, you can give an order if you are on the other side of the show. At the back, at the foot, you will find the speaker (80 dB) and the microphone on / off button. In addition, the Home Hub supports Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11b / g / n / ac technologies over 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks. The whole weighs only 480 grams and is smaller than you think.

There is no camera in the Hub, so the camera can also be used in the bedroom without you having the feeling of being watched by a Google representative. to become. The video call is not possible with the Home Hub, but an ordinary audio call without video is possible.

Google Home Application

What can you do with the Google Home Hub?

You can use the hub as n & n Any other You can also use the home speaker with your voice, the screen that makes the hub unique in the Home series, the voice commands must be in English, the commands are displayed on the screen, as well as the result

If you slide the screen from left to right, you step back from a step in the menu.An upward sweep brings up the volume and brightness controls A high sweep bottom moves the dashboard Main view If you slide your finger from right to left on the screen, you will see your appointments, Top Stories from Google News, listen recently or watch music and videos from Spotify and YouTube.You will find further in the menus of many cons them on what you still want. can do more with your Hub, like play music, search for recipes, turn off the light and watch videos of dachshunds running.

In addition, you can use the Hub to serve more than 10,000 smart devices from more than 1,000 manufacturers. For example, you can use the Nvidia Shield TV, Philips Hue lamps, Nanoleaf lighting, as well as many smart plugs, smart thermostats and smart security cameras.

Home Screen of the Hub

Daily Use

Currently, I mainly use it to listen and review a snapshot of my day and Watch, listen to music, watch YouTube videos, and answer questions The last thing you need to do with the latest mission is that, unlike Google Home, you can also immediately see photos when you ask for information about Paris. Hello Hello is very good This smart video doorbell shows on the Hub that is at the door and allows you to immediately decide if you open in the case of pizza delivery or in other cases just not.In addition, I say at the Philips Hue Hub the lights are on or off.

In the software applications, the Home view, the surround mode, and the Google Photos integration are new, which I discusses below separately

The Home View

A top-down shot or have all kinds of intelligent tasks performed internally via a command. With this you can control lamps, thermostat, cameras and other devices. In addition, there's deep integration with Nest products like the Nest Hello bell, but also the Nest Thermostat. The Google Home app is completely in line with the Home View interface, which makes it a lot more intuitive. The application therefore contains the same smart devices in the same rooms with the same control buttons as the Hub.

Home View Dashboard

Digital Photo Frame with Ambient Mode

If you do not use the hub, it switches to Ambient mode so that You can create a digital photo frame from your hub, in which you can choose photos from your Google Photos, an art gallery with a selection of photos or photos from your Facebook or Flickr account. You can find the mood mode in the home application. if you click on the hub Here you can customize Ambient.

Choose Google Photos? Then you can choose your own albums, but also create live albums containing the albums of some people. This will only select the best photos that will be chosen using Machine Learning. You can also hide or show the weather, time and photo information here and set the slideshow speed.

I'm not a foodie

If you do not feel like taking pictures, you can choose a clock in full screen and the choice is immense. Especially the word clock looks cool on the Hub.

Creating Recipes

A separate mention of recipes is certainly in place. You can, if you want to make a cheesecake, quickly put the Hub in the kitchen and get step by step explanations via screen and voice guidance. Here, you see, in English, the ingredients on the screen. Then you will be guided throughout the preparation of the cake by voice guidance. When you're done, you say "Next Step."

EQ Ambient Light Sensor

The Hub display has the Ambient EQ function, which is linked to the light sensor on the top edge. the correct brightness of the screen is automatically set. Thus, during the day, the brightness of the device is correct to be able to read everything correctly, while the screen is dimmed at night, which is particularly useful if you have the Hub in your bedroom. stand up and do not want to be bothered at night by a bucket of light.In addition, the screen can recognize more than 16 million combinations of light and color to fit the pictures displayed to your interior.You can do it in the home application via 'View' at your convenience.

Remote Field Microphones

I do not have a living room of 60 square meters, but the two far-field microphones for the Hub that are in the window sill of the living room capture my vocal command of the kitchen . Then I am on the other side of the house, about 9 meters. Between the living room and the kitchen, there is a wall with an opening. So, in this floor, I can entrust the tasks of the hub everywhere, even when music is in progress.

Call

It is possible to call via the hub with Google Duo. To use this app, you must enter your phone number in the Google Home app.

Conclusion

The Google Home Hub is an ideal gadget for people with a visual vision. It is nice to see the results immediately on the screen, giving an extra dimension to the smart speaker. In addition, ease of use, Nest integration and detailed instructions for recipe preparation are immediately apparent. All this comes at a price because the Hub is not available in the Netherlands. Although you can import the device via a detour, there are also disadvantages. For the Hub to be delivered to the Netherlands, you will soon need more than 50 euros more and the Dutch language will not be supported. For many people, it will be a dealbreaker. For now, the Google Home Hub is an economical photo frame with so many interesting features and disadvantages.

Positive points

+ Simple operation via touch screen and voice

+ The same possibilities the Google Home but with an image

Negative points

– Not available in the Netherlands

– So, no support for the Dutch language

Purchase of Google Home Hub

The Google Home Hub costs $ 149 and can Google Store and a number of retailers in the United States, in the United Kingdom and Australia. Since October, Google Home and Google Home Mini are also officially available in the Netherlands. It's hard to know if the Google Home Hub is right for us in the short term.

You can still access Google Home Hub. You can read how it works in this article

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