Seasonal Sales Tech Radar

Grab the second-generation Google Nest Hub for almost half price before it’s too late

December 26, 2023
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Google fans rejoice - the Google Nest Hub is once again discounted to a fantastically low price in the after-Christmas sales. Right now, you can score it for just $59.98 at Walmart, saving you $40 on one of the best smart displays.

This cameraless smart display boasts several excellent specs and features, including Sleep Sensing (although this will become integrated into Fitbit Premium next year - more on that below). If you're running a Google-based smart home, it's a must-have. 

Although it was released in 2021, the second-generation Google Nest Hub is still the most recent smart home hub released by the tech giant. We scored it a respectable four out of five stars in our review, though it's worth noting Google has gutted a number of features and there's a slightly foggy future before its smart home lineup - details of this are below and well worth reading before you buy.

Now, let's briefly talk about the future of Google's smart home. It's been nearly three years since we've seen any new hubs from Google, and while for a time that filled me with excitement for some big news to come, I'm growing increasingly nervous given some of Google's Fitbit news this year that there may be trouble ahead for Google smart home fans. 

In 2023 alone we saw more features stripped from Google's hubs than added, including compared to Amazon's ever-increasing array of skills and Apple's somewhat stagnant but solid approach. 

For instance, the Sleep Sensing feature mentioned earlier was free to preview all through 2023, but in 2024 Google plans to integrate it into Fitbit Premium, a subscription-based service. Support for some features on Zoom and Meet ended in September, Dropcam support ended in April and a host of other Google Assistant voice apps got the chop, too.

Now, there could be a host of reasons development has slowed in the Google smart home labs. Google's Gemini LLM could be a big factor here, with the tech giant potentially vying to develop the most advanced smart assistant possible, but that doesn't necessarily explain some of the more economical decisions made by Google in recent months.

Do I think it'd be a really dumb idea for Google to make its existing smart hubs obsolete in favor of next-generation devices? Absolutely, especially as it's not exactly curried the favor or trust of its fans this year. Do I still think there's a chance they will? Yes, a small one, but a chance nonetheless. So, buy with caution. 

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