The Nest Home Max is a Google Assistant-powered 10-inch touchscreen display with stereo speakers and a Nest cam built in for making video calls with Google Duo.
It is larger than the Nest Home Hub which is currently available.
And more functional!
The Home Hub through a successful product was criticized for being small and lacking the feature of videos calls.
Google Nest Hub Max has included that.
Google is integrating Nest and Home products as Home hub is called Nest Hub now.
This combines family of Nest cams with the Google Home Max smart speaker, and a display to the mix.
Google has recently announced this in IO 2019 that it is going to bring all Home devices under the brand Nest.
The brand Nest, associated with security cameras and thermostat was acquired by Google a few years ago.
The Hub Max, competes with devices like the Amazon Echo Show and Facebook Portal devices.
Nest Home MaxLooks and Overview
The looks of Nest Home Max are quite similar to the Nest Home Hub. Both have an angled display supported by a fabric-covered base that has the speakers.
Actually, it looks like a tablet posted on Google Home.
A switch on the back of the display is used to deactivate camera physically though that can be done from the software as well.
The Facebook Portal has something similar.
Unlike Home Hub, Home Max has a camera and this is useful for making video calls by Duo.
The 6.5MP camera has a 127-degree field of view and is able to capture most of a room. It also has a feature called autoframing where the camera can zoom digitally and tracks on the subjects as they move around.
Another use of the camera is facial recognition based on which customized preferences could be loaded. Up to six profiles can be stores.
The Home Max can also connect to Thread-supported devices such as door locks and motion sensors, so it can act as a smart home
The Hub Max speakers have more power with two front-facing 10-watt tweeters and a 30-watt woofer.
The screen is bigger, at 10 inches and a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels.
Let us dive into features.
User Recognition
Google says that the Hub will recognize a user through face recognition technology [ Google calls it Face Match] and then offer a personalized experience.
SO whenever you walk in front of the camera, the Nest Hub Max recognizes you and greets you and shows your information like your calendar, commuting details, the weather, and other information you need to start your day.
Exciting!
You would need to store your profile though. Maximum of six profiles can be stored.
our face data is stored on the be stored on the device and not in the cloud.
There is a physical switch on the back to turn the camera off, but it would also turn the microphone off at the same time.
But you can turn off just the camera while keeping the microphone on via software menu.
Face Match allows the device to change the home screen based on who’s in the room.
Smart Display
Nest Home Max has a smart display.
An ambient light sensor quickly adapts adapt the brightness and warmth of the pics on the fly, and it makes them look great. In fact, they give the impression of physical pictures in a frame instead of a blaring image on a billboard.
As noted before the camera can recognize your face and show you personalized notifications.
Gesture Control
Gesture controls allow you to to play and pause whatever music or video you’re playing.
For this, you need to look at the camera and hold up your hand as if you’re saying stop and it will [It will not respond to waving]. Simply repeating the gesture would play the media again.
It is quite a handy feature when you have a noisy household or you are playing music loudly. Instead of yelling STOP, all you need is to raise the hand.
Google Assistant
You can control the Nest Hub Max with your voice through the built-in Google Assistant. Google will show the info on the screen.
For example, when you ask about the weather, it will display a forecast or would display pictures of the restaurant when you search for a place to eat.
You can also use the touchscreen to watch YouTube videos and control your compatible smart home gadgets.
Looking at family photos through Google photos is another thing possible. and look at family photos. You can instruct Google to create an album photo for you and scroll through them as a screen saver.
Video Calls with AutoFraming
You can make video calls using Duo or leave a video message.
Nest Max Home can pan and zoom to focus on the important subjects in each video call, a phenomenon called auto-framing.
For example, if you are chatting and moving, the camera follows you ow you around the room. This feature works very well if you have a small kid whose action you want to share.
This feature is also almost peculiarly available in Facebook Portal.
You can tap to turn it on or off this feature. When it’s off, the 127-degree camera shows a wide-angle view of the room.
On turning on, it pans, tilts and zooms.
The Security Cam
The built-in 6.5 megapixel cam can also function as a security cam. This is a useful feature when you are away.
You can drop in on the cam’s feed -another function you can disable if it makes you uncomfortable.
When live, the cam will show a green light [typical of a Nest Cam], and the Hub Max will show a message on the screen.
There is app where you can get alerts on detection of motion.
But the cam lacks a night vision.
Price and Availability
The Google Nest Hub Max will be available to purchase this summer, costing $229 / £219.
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