Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)
The cheapest sensible way into Google Home, and a good bedside or kitchen display. Sleep Sensing is still free, whatever you may have read. Just do not count on radar tracking you accurately if you share the bed.
Our editorial rating, not aggregated user reviews
Cheap, camera-free, better-sounding than the original, and a genuinely good bedside display. Sleep Sensing is still free: Google has been saying since 2021 that it will move the feature behind Fitbit Premium, and has postponed doing so every year since, so as things stand the radar tracks your sleep at no extra charge. That is a real perk, and it is also a risk you should price in, because Google has told us plainly what it intends to do eventually. What keeps it in the sevens is Soli itself. It tracks whichever body is nearest, so a partner or a pet in the bed confuses it, and that rules out accurate sleep tracking for a great many households before the subscription question even arises.
Pros
- The cheapest way into a Google Home display, and it sounds better than the original
- No camera at all, which is exactly what you want beside a bed
- Soli radar tracks when you get into bed, fall asleep and wake, without a wearable
- Sleep Sensing is free. Google has been promising to move it behind Fitbit Premium since 2021 and has delayed every year
- Wave gestures to pause media or silence an alarm
- Auto-adjusting brightness suits a bedside table
Cons
- Sleep Sensing is a preview. Google has stated it intends to move it into Fitbit Premium eventually, so the free feature could become a paid one
- Soli follows the nearest person, so a partner or pet in the bed can confuse it
- Needs to sit close to the bed, unobstructed, for sleep tracking to work
- Mono audio, and bass is thin
- A weaker smart home hub than the Echo Hub; it is a Matter controller, not a Zigbee hub
Specifications
- Display
- 7-inch touchscreen (1024×600)
- Assistant
- Google Assistant
- Protocols
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Matter controller
- Camera
- None
- Special feature
- Sleep Sensing (Soli radar). Free preview, no subscription required