by Peter Claridge-Bowler
The Google Nest Hub Max is a smart display developed by Google. It’s designed
to be a central hub for controlling smart home devices, accessing information,
and interacting with Google Assistant, which is Google’s virtual voice
assistant.
What is Google Assistant?
The Google Assistant is a digital voice assistant that can be controlled by
voice or touch gestures on a screen (depending on what kind of Google assistant
you have).
The Google Assistant is designed to assist in the automation of your
home/everyday life, the ability to look up information and control linked
devices within your household; all by using your voice or the touch screen,
this device comes in a variety of sizes, from a small speaker to a 14-inch
touch screen.
First impressions and physical description
When taking the Google Nest Hub Max out of the box, you’ll find it has a glass
screen and a fabric speaker built-in together, first impressions I was
surprised by the weight of the device: it felt very sturdy, and I didn’t worry
about knocking it over. The glass screen has a nice feel to it, there were
several small switches on the back of the screen, for volume and mute controls.
Setting up the device
Setting up the device was quick and relatively simple. To set up the device for
it to function you’ll need to download the Google Home app onto your smart
device. You will need to log in to your Google account (unfortunately a Google
account is required). Once set up with your Google account, you can access all
the different features.
It doesn’t come with an internal power supply so will need to be plugged in.
Now you’re ready to go.
What are some of the features?
Well, one of the main features of the Google Nest Hub Max is that instead of
using the wake word “Okay Google” it can detect when your face is pointing
towards the screen via the internal camera. Though if you are visually impaired
this may be a little bit tricky to work out which way the unit is exactly.
It can make video calls to relatives who have devices linked to Google Meet. It
can also tell you how long it will take you to get to a location factoring in
traffic conditions and routes.
First time using the device
When I first used the device, I was rather confused, for example, I would ask
it to read me a recipe, and it would find them and say “here are some pasta
recipes” but wouldn’t tell me what was on the screen. To say I was either
disappointed or aggravated is an understatement. I decided to go to Google to
do a little research and it turns out the device has a built-in screen reader.
To enable it, you need to go to the Google Home app settings, and select
accessibility and screen reader. It took a little while to get the hang of the
touch gestures for the device, but once I did, it became rather quick to access
and read information.
I’ve been using the device for a few days, here are my thoughts
At first, I wasn’t entirely sure about the device, but the more I used it and
got more familiar with it, I found it a breeze. The Google Nest Hub Max is fast
and responsive, it has the uncanny ability to remember context for questions,
it’s able to show me all the different recipes that I ask for, and can access
YouTube, which is great for easy access to entertainment. I also found that
when playing music it doesn’t just use the music subscription that you are
using, it’ll search the web / YouTube for the version of the song you are after
when prompted.
Another feature is that you can link the Google Hub to different devices around
your home and control them directly from the unit itself. For example,
adjusting aircon/digital thermostats, controlling lighting, adding items to
shopping lists, or setting regular alarms or timers. This connectivity allows
you to manage your day-to-day life more easily and conveniently.
Once I had gotten used to the control system, I found it intuitive and
surprising how it remembers context for questions and would be able to answer
follow-up questions for that subject. The built-in screen reader allowed me to
explore the touch screen and gain more information, searching for video content
that I might not have been able to find with the voice control. This meant that
searches could be more accurate and in-depth.
Additionally, I’d say that the sound quality of the device is extremely good,
with clear speech from the screen reader to rich sound and vibrant bass for
playing music. The Google Assistant’s voice is equally crisp and easy to
understand.
My final thoughts
The Google Home Hub Max is a great digital assistant for your home. It’s very
responsive and I find the experience to be fun in several different ways,
asking it to tell me a joke or play me a YouTube clip, you can also access the
Google Play Store.
I would use it all the time to explore new music or play YouTube videos.
Finding songs that are only available through YouTube gave me a great sense of
nostalgia and discovery.
The price of the unit is a little bit higher than an Alexa; the average cost is
about €200 at the time of writing this.
I’m told the screen quality is clear and sharp, with a high screen resolution.
I also found the voice on the Google Nest Hub Max very clear to hear and easy
to understand. The Google Assistant is always receiving updates and
improvements so who knows what will come in the future of the product.
NCBI Technology News.
