APPLE CHOICE Mac/iOS hardware
VERDICT
78 | MACFORMAT | APRIL 2020Google Nest Wifi
Google Wifi and Home together at long last
£239 FROM Google, store.google.com FEATURES 802.11ac mesh Wi-Fi router (2.4GHz/5GHz), Bluetooth LE,
1.4GHz quad-core ARM processor, 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports (router), 110x90.4mm (router), 102.2x87.2mm (point)Nest Wifi brings
Google Wifi and Google
Home together in one
attractive system.+++++
Google Wifi and
Home together at last
Excellent design
No major
performance gains
Some deeper
control gets lostImage credit: GoogleEach point expands
your Wi-Fi coverage and
acts a smart speaker.e love the Google Nest Wifi
for bringing together Google
Wifi and Google Home into a
new single attractive design.
The wireless Router connects to your
modem or gateway and delivers up to 204
sq. metres of Wi-Fi coverage to up to 100
connected devices. You can then pair that
device with one of Google’s Point extenders
to increase your coverage by another 149 sq.
metres. The three-pack can cover as much as
502 sq. metres. And each Point doubles as
a Google Home speaker, complete with
microphones and a speaker.
The Google Nest Wifi design is a
stark departure from the Google Wifi
that preceded it. Gone are the glossy,
white plastic cylinders in favour of
some even more innocuous matte
plastic domes that round off in
comfortable corners at either end.
All you’ll find on the Router device
is a single, white LED that shines through the
plastic shell to indicate a connection. On the
bottom, you’ll find a tough rubber base hiding
two Ethernet ports (one WAN and one LAN)
as well as a standard AC charging port.
The Point device boasts four far-field
microphones on top and a 360° speaker with
40mm driver inside, bedecked by a single,
round LED on the undercarriage that responds
when asked questions via your voice. These
units have no Ethernet ports included, making
them less useful than the previous-generation
products but perhaps more focused.It’s coming home
The Nest Wifi is set up via the Google Home
app. (The Google Wifi app still exists for those
who stick with the original model or opt to just
add a Nest Wifi point to their original model.)
The setup process is a little woolly but
retrying the connection a few times will get
you through. Adding a Wifi Point is done in
exactly the same way. Ultimately, Nest Wifi
does do about 90% of the setup and updating
itself, which is very welcome.As for the interface, Google has brought
major features over from the Wifi app – like
setting a priority device, creating a guest
network and setting family controls – but it
does lose a bit of fine control. You can no longer
see exactly which Wifi device each connected
device is tethered to and change it accordingly.
Instead, you’re left to assume Nest Wifi will
automatically connect devices to the best Wi-Fi
provider. Google’s new cloud features, using
machine learning chips within its Nest devices
to automatically prioritise types of traffic based
on bandwidth needs, physical position and
other factors, should make up for this as the
system learns your usage habits.
We tested the Router and one Point pack
and found the Google Nest Wifi to performjust as well as the original Google Wifi in
normal use, chewing through downloads and
streaming video over our 100Mbps service.
Comparatively, the Nest Wifi performed
marginally faster than the original Google
Wifi at 5GHz in the Ookla speed test, and just
as quickly in our file download test. As for
2.4GHz, we’ve found performance to be far
worse in the speed test, but about identical in
our file download test. This latter speed test
result doesn’t line up with our experience
using the Router and Point, however, and
2.4GHz is generally slower than 5GHz.
Ultimately, we’re pleased with how the
Nest Wifi performs. It’s not blowing us away
in terms of reaching the utmost capacity of the
100Mbps service that we pay for. There are
other routers out there that could help us get
the most out of that service, but they’d be uglier
and more noodly to manipulate and control.
For those that are deeply enmeshed in a
smart home setup with connected devices, the
Nest Wifi aims to bring Google Assistant and
your network together. JOE OSBORNEMachine learning chips
prioritise types of traffic
based on various factors