Google Nest Hub Max: My New Favorite Smart Display

I was definitely a huge fan of the Google Home Hub Nest Hub when it came out last year. The lack of a camera and the sweet price point worked in Google’s favor. So for I/O this year, they dropped the bigger version of it w/ the Nest Hub Max. The design language remains the same w/ the fabric-lined design on the rear and plastic build on the front w/ privacy switch + volume controls on the rear.

So not only does it offer a bigger screen & better sound but offers a camera as well. But not just a standard one but a full-fledged Nest Camera built into it. You a lot more w/ it than just view your security camera footage. You can use it as an indoor camera that tracks motion and sound as well as being able to zoom in on the subject. We’ve ready to tell you why this is my favorite new smart display.

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What's the difference between the Nest Hub & Nest Hub Max?

Its really sound, size, & camera for the most part. The Nest Hub has a full-range speaker on the rear & the Nest Hub Max has 2 speakers in the front + one on the rear. The Hub has a 7inch display w/ 1024 x 600 resolution weighing in at 16.9oz while the Hub Max has a 10inch display w/ 1280 x 800 resolution weighing in at 2.91lbs. The Hub Max touts a 6.5inch camera while the Hub doesn’t have one at all.

Outside of that, these both have Ambient EQ (sensors to match light of the room – get brighter when light is on & dimmer when it’s off), Live Album support for your Google Photos, far-field mics to hear your commands and utilize Voice Match (supporting different profiles by recognizing your voice), Home View UI to control everything within your smart home, and the power of everything you can do w/ Google Assistant.

Is the sound quality that big of a difference between the 2 Hubs?

We already told you how many speakers each of Google’s Smart Display is armed w/ and it is a huge difference in the sound quality. The Hub Max’s 2 10W tweeters in the front & tits 30W woofer on the rear is a hell of an improvement. The bass hits more and the sound is overall fuller to better fill up a room w/ sound. To the point that if you plan on using yours to stream music, podcasts, etc., the Nest Hub won’t be an option for you.

Is it just another camera on a smart display?

No, it is not. This isn’t just a standard camera but something you can do a lot more with. This might be the shining star of this device. It is a 6.5MP Nest camera w/ a 127-degree wide field-of-view. So along w/ being able to now pull off voice/video calls, you’ll be able to use the Hub Max into a home security camera that you can access away from home on your phone/tablet.

This is thanks to its ultrasonic sensors that act as a motion-sensing camera to detect any movement within the camera’s line of sight. It can also auto-frame & zoom to keep you centered during Duo video calls. It even adds Face Match or facial recognition which was more than likely perfected here before bringing the technology to the Pixel 4/4 XL. You can subscribe to Nest Aware (starting at $5 per month or $50 for the year) and see all of your video recordings up to 30 days as well as get motion, sound, & face alerts.

FYI: you’ll be able to turn off both the camera & mic off for privacy concerns as well as turn off just the camera or just the mic individually. You can also do more than just video calls here. You can make/view video messages for family members to see when they get home.

The Nest Cam makes this Nest Hub Max more powerful and a one of a kind.

Google’s Nest Hub Max vastly improves on the last year’s model. We already told you all the ways it does so. But they did a good job in the execution of it all as well. The addition of the camera brings Face Match to the mix along w/a complete indoor Nest Cam w/ Nest Aware service, the ability to pause media by waving your hand in front of it and more gestures to come, and more.

Outside of the bigger screen, speakers, and added camera, you can do everything the Nest Hub can do. You still can access the vast abilities of Google Assistant, control all of your smart home products via Home View UI, view your photos via Live Albums, support multiple account profiles, and unfortunately still don’t support Netflix though.

Side note: pick one up and get 3 months of SiriusXM Premiere Streaming service for free.

It was already a great smart home hub but now it’s a better version of it that can be more useful for home security as well as entertainment. For those of you who can appreciate smart display and prefer the Google Assistant route, this will be the best smart display for you.