Wednesday, March 27, 2024

New Google Nest Hub smart screen monitors your sleep without a camera

Many of us don’t get enough sleep, which comes with some real risks. In recent years, sleep trackers have become a popular solution to understand their sleep. The Nest Hub has always helped you tackle the day; now, it can help you rest well at night.

Google has launched the second generation of their Nest Hub, a smart display that can serve as a speaker, screen, and various other things. The new Nest Hub has no visual changes – available in four different colors; it has the same size and design as its predecessor.

The main difference from the previous one is Sleep Sensing. Sleep Sensing uses Motion Sense – powered by Soli low-energy radar technology – to analyze how the person closest to the display is sleeping, based on their movement and breathing – all without a camera or wearable. Sleep Sensing can also detect sleep disturbances like coughing and snoring or the light and temperature changes in the room with Nest Hub’s built-in microphones and ambient light and temperature sensors, so you can better understand what’s impacting your sleep.

New Google Nest Hub smart screen monitors your sleep without a camera.
The smart display comes with camera free design, gesture control, improved speaker, and Sleep Sensing.

Every morning your sleep is presented, and you can ask Nest Hub at any time about your sleep. You can also get tips on how to sleep better and a schedule for when to go to bed. In addition, all Sleeping Sensing processing is done locally, never being transferred to servers in the cloud – if you want to delete such data, just do it through the Google Fit application.

Nest Hub has the same sound technology as in Nest Audio, which gives it 50% more bass than its predecessor. You can listen to music from YouTube Music, Spotify with multiple audio sources. You can also have TV services such as Netflix, Disney Plus, and YouTube and, to some extent, control the device with hand movements in front of the screen.

It has the same 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1024 by 600 pixels, a faster processor, and louder speakers.

Going further, we also have compatibility with the Connected Home over IP (CHIP) standard, which allows Nest Hub to communicate with other smart devices in addition to the brand’s own speakers. This makes it easier to assemble your smart home with the gadgets you want and use Google’s smart display as a centralized control panel, managing lights, air conditioning, locks, and so on.

Aware that consumers are increasingly concerned about their online privacy, Google has kept the button that disables the microphone for voice commands in case the user feels uncomfortable with the device always listening to what is being said around them.

During the first year, this service is free, but it is unclear what it will look like next year. Google also says they will partner with Fitbit’s sleep-tracking features in the future. The second-generation Nest Hub can be pre-ordered for $99.