Google Home Hub joins the fight to put a screen on your counter

Hello Google, what do you get when you combine a smart speaker, a touch screen and a smart home control panel?

Answer: Google Home Hub. For months, we've heard about Google's smart display and we've seen leaked pictures a few weeks ago – Now, Google is gone and made it official by announcing the thing during its event Made by Google devices At New York.

Thanks to Lenovo Smart Display and the JBL Link View, we already know the features of a smart screen equipped with a Google assistant. Like these devices, the Home Hub will respond to voice commands from the Google Assistant. like the rest of the Google Home range. You can control your smart home, view your calendar, search the web, and more. with a voice command.

The touch screen displays additional information if you ask the weather or search for local restaurants. It is definitely useful when you want to check your smart cameras, view a map, look at photos or watch videos. The Google Home Hub Hub uses the same operating system and voice assistant as the Lenovo Smart Display and JBL Link View, which I appreciated when I viewed them last summer.

You can buy the Google Home Hub for charcoal, aqua, chalk or sand for $ 150 at a relatively low price when it comes out on October 22nd. The four color options will be available in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. The US price is converted to around £ 115 and $ 210 AU. The price is rather attractive, despite a relatively small screen of seven inches. The Lenovo Smart Display costs $ 250 for the model with a 10-inch display and $ 200 for the eight-inch version. The JBL Link View costs $ 250 and has an eight-inch screen.

New tips

Beyond what the Lenovo Smart Display and JBL Link View can do, the Google Home Hub offers new tips to help it stand out from the increasingly populous field of smart screens.

Unlike Lenovo Smart Display and JBL Link View, Google Home Hub does not have a camera. The point on the upper frame that looks like a camera is a light sensor. Google wanted you to put the Home Hub in any room at ease. The removal of the camera was therefore meant to reinforce the feeling of intimacy. You can make calls with the home hub, even video calls with Google Duo, but it will be one-way video calls because the recipient will not be able to see you.

The light sensor will also allow the Google Home Hub to blend more easily into the skin, thanks to another new feature called Ambient EQ, which essentially allows the Home Hub to adapt on the fly the brightness and warmth of the screen to ambient lighting. Google wanted to prevent the Home Hub from producing a blinding image in a dark room. This sensor and light effect will make the Home Home stand out as the most versatile smart display with Google Assistant because it can blend into any room.

Those who have adopted smart home appliances will also appreciate the Home Hub Smart Home Control Panel. If you slide your finger on the screen, you will see commands open automatically to support the specific settings of any connected Google compatible home devices that you may have installed. This is a feature we wanted to see on other Google smart screens, but it has not materialized so far.

Fortunately, the smart home controls will finally be deployed on the Lenovo Smart Display and the JBL Link View. Google does not leave its partners behind.

I still find it odd that Google has introduced its four third-party smart screens at CES (including upcoming models from LG and Sony), and then produced another one, especially as Lenovo's smart screens and from JBL have just been. hit the store shelves. Several Google representatives insisted that the intention was not to undermine its partners, but to offer various options to customers. The lack of camera on the home hub may be enough to satisfy Google's partners, although this seems like an obvious upgrade in a new generation domestic hub. So what?

Hands on

I've had the opportunity to spend time with Google Home Hub, which is much smaller than expected. Even knowing that his screen was 7 inches, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was in the palm of my hand. Aesthetically, this has reminded me a lot of Google Home Mini.

Looks like Google has added a small touch screen to a smart speaker. The design does not hit as perfectly as the Lenovo Smart Display, but that did not bother me. It's compact and strange, but a bit cute. Clearly, Google wants you to be comfortable sticking the Home Hub on any surface of your home and you will definitely have no trouble finding space.

The Ambient EQ function also worked very well during repeated demonstrations. A representative from Google showed me an ordinary picture in a frame compared to the same picture on the touch screen of the Google Home Hub. Then, it turned off a nearby light and the Home Hub was perfectly adapted to the new ambient light. In a dark room, it was a little brighter than the actual picture, but it eliminated the billboard effect.

The representative then placed his finger on the sensor to indicate the blackness of the screen, which would be convenient if you wish to use it as an alarm clock in your room at night. Between the ambient equalization feature and integration with the more robust Live albums, which allow Google Assistant to sort your images by person or location, Google has thought a lot about making the Google Home Hub a photo frame digital does not use it for anything else.

Fortunately, it still works very well when you use it actively. My favorite feature of both the Lenovo Smart Display and JBL Link View was using the voice-assisted step-by-step recipe. The Google Assistant can not only explain what you want to cook, but you can also ask him to create YouTube videos if you need additional instructions on a step. Plus, you can multitask and play videos, listen to music or add an ingredient to your grocery list. The Google wizard will allow you to keep your place in the recipe so you can get back to cooking as soon as you're ready. I'm happy to say that this feature is still intact on the Google Home Hub.

My new favorite feature was certainly the smart home control panel. Swipe down and you'll see buttons for common tasks like turning off your lights or broadcasting a message. You can also view your devices piece by piece to access more in-depth controls.

I like having a centralized location to manage your smart home and the control panel is well organized. The quick access buttons change depending on the devices you own and reflect the new buttons of the Google Home app. So you can do what you want quickly with the same prompts, whether you're on the go with your phone or at home near your Google Home Hub.

You can still control your smart home with voice commands, of course. The JBL and Lenovo screens also display sliders and buttons for a connected device after a voice command if you want to make adjustments. If you lower the temperature with a voice command, you can use a slider to further adjust the temperature of your smart thermostat. The new home hub commands go even further by allowing you to launch commands with one touch, which will prove convenient if you are trying to keep quiet or if you just do not want to talk.

Try to show the echo

Originally, Google has partnered with companies such as Lenovo and JBL to create the first popular smart screen, the Amazon Echo Show. The Lenovo Smart Display and JBL Link View have both surpassed Amazon's competent but clunky Show, but the Amazon's 2nd generation Show has just started. It supports all browsers and works with the latest streaming box of the company – the Redesign of Amazon Fire TV. In addition, the new Echo Show offers a similar drop-down menu with smart home controls.

Therefore, the Google Home hub will not only have to surpass the brand new show, it will also have merit beyond a field filled with world filled with other options equipped with Google Assistant. Even Facebook has entered the game with the portal. Nevertheless, Google Home Hub is based on a solid foundation and the new features seem useful and well implemented. I hope the Google Home Hub can be a great multitasking that works well in the center of a smart and seamless home.

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