Computer Shopper - UK (2020-01)

ISSUE383|COMPUTER SHOPPER|JANUARY2020 39

SPECIFICATIONS

DRIVERS (^3) • RMSPOWER OUTPUTNotstated•
WIRELESS802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0•DIMENSIONS
183x250x101mm•DISPLAY1,280x800•WEIGHT1.3kg•
WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSstore.google.com•
PART CODENest HubMax
DON’TLETTHEnew Nest branding throwww
you off;this is adirect successor to the
Google Home Hub (Shopper372), one of
our favouritesmart displays.The Nest Hub
Max is therefore afamiliar device,albeit aaa
significantly larger one –its displayis10innn
diagonally,upfrom7in –and with acamera
nestled in the topbezel.
Forthose who fear the privacy implicatttttiiiioooonnnnssss
of this, there is aswitch round the back thhhat
disables both the camera and the two far---field
microphones. It’s apitythere’s no switch fffor
turning off the camera while leaving the
microphones on, although you can do thissson
the displaywithaswipe upwards.
WIDERWORLD
The benefits of alarger screen should be
pretty obvious: everything is bigger and eaaasssiiieeerrr
to seeortouch. And, while a10in screen still
isn’t massive in an age of 6in phones and 55in
TVs, it’s still more than enough to service the
Nest Hub Max’s core functions.
The extra size also calls foraresolution
boost, going from 1,024x600 on the older
model to 1,280x800. That’s amodest increase,
and the effect is largely absorbed by the
greaterdimensions, meaning that things
look ppprettyyysimilar to how theyyydid on the
original Home Hub: it isn’t hugely sharp,bbbbut
theeecolours look rich and largely accurate,
andddthat’s prettymuch all you need for
sommmething that will be viewed from furtheeeer
awwway than your average phone or
tabbblet. It is, however,somewhat
reflflflective,sobesure to place it
weeell awayfrom direct sunlight.
As with all smart displays, the
touuuchscreen isn’talways essential:
Goooogle Assistant can use voice
commmmands alone to respond to
queeeries and tinker with smart home
equuuipment. It can come in handy,
howwwever.For example,ifyou own a
Neeest video doorbell, you can see
whhho’satyour door without having
to consult your phone.Place the
Neeest Hub Max in the kitchen, and
youuucan also look up recipes and
YouTube cooking tutorials
wittthout having to touchanything.
It even has Chromecast
supppport built-in, meaning you
cannnpush videos to the screen,
incccluding those you ha
savvveddddon apersonallllPPPPllllex
serrrver.Being able to se
GOOGLE NestHubMax
★★★★★
£219•From store.google.cccom

VERDICT

The Nest Hub Max is just abigger versionnnof
the Google Home Hub,but that’s no bad ttthing

SMARTDISPLAY

control all your smart home devices on a

single screen is also nice,and you can even

link it to Google Photos to be adigital photo

frame when it’s sleeping.

OCULAR IMPLANT

The camera, although likely to be a

controversial addition, has its benefits too.

Abright green light makes it clear when the

camera is active,and it allows forfacial

recognition, so as you approaaaach the screen it

will only show information thaaaat’s pertinent to

you specifically.Wehaven’t had any issues

with accuracy,either.

The camera also enablesaaaanew feature

called Quick Gestures, wherebbbbyyou control

the Nest Hub Max with handdddsignals instead

of voicecommands or the touchscreen.

This works surprisingly weeeell: holding a

hand up in a‘stop’gestuuuure reliably

paused any music theddddevice was

playing, so that we coooould input voice

commands without having to shout.

Even more usefffful is the Nest

Hub Max’s abilityyyyto act as a

smart securityccccamera, if a

relatively basiccccone.Itcomes

with afreemmmmonth’s trial of

Nest Awareeee,which means it

can capturrrrevideo when

you’re awwwway.

Onceeeethis trial

expires,,,,you’re looking

subscription cost

ffff ttttllll tttt££££ 5555 per monttttthhhhhiiiifffff

keep it going,

although on the free i it still sen

notifications and take aphoto, albeit one

that isn’t kept forverylong. The extra cost

feels alittle cheekkkkky, but given security camera

fffuuunnnccctttiiiooonnnaaallliiitttyyyiiisssvvveeeeerrryyymmmuuuccchhhaaabbbooonnnuuusssfffeeeaaatttuuurrreeeooofff

the Nest Hub Max, it can be ignored.

The Nest Hub Max’s larger footprint also

means the speaker gets an upgrade.The new

model comes with a75mm, 30W wooferand

two 38mm, 10W mid-high drivers, and the

sound quality is pretty reasonable,although

no match forthe best smart speakers, such

as the Sonos Move (opposite). It distorts

quiteunpleasantly at higher volumes,

although this is aloudspeaker to begin with,

so you shouldn’t need to crank it up toofar

in everydayuse.

NEST PLEASE

The Google Nest Hub Max takes everything

that was great about the Home Hub and

makes it alittle bigger. That means it’s still a

great product, but only you can really say

whether you need to spend the extra £80 on

an extra three inches of screen real estate,

slightly beefier sound and acamera. Both

models, however,are excellent products.

AlanMartin

BESTBUY

Youcan controlthe NestHub Max with hand signals.

Holding ahand up in a‘stop’ gesturepauses anymusic