The new Google Nest Hub has just been announced – a smart speaker with a display for $99. It takes sleep tracking in a new and exciting direction. Sleep monitoring has become a thing recently, with devices from Fitbits to Apple Watches, Oura Rings to Withings Sleep pads all aiming to help you know how well you’re sleeping.
For another take on the Google Nest Hub and its new sibling, check out Anthony Karcz’s post, here on Forbes.
Some of these gadgets can tell you if you snore (as if!) others monitor your heart rate from under the mattress. But the new Google Nest Hub is unique.
It uses a form of radar which uses Google’s Soli technology to check on your breathing, your nocturnal movements and even your snoring—no, we know, that bit doesn’t apply to you.
Additionally, it can check on temperature and light readings to understand what your bedroom is like.
I know, I can hear you now, you’re asking how private your bedroom is when this data is being harvested. First of all, please know that there’s no camera in the Google Nest Hub, so no video or photos can be transmitted and anyway, all the data it collects is kept on-device, not sent to the cloud.
Sleep monitoring is fascinating. I wear the Oura ring and tells me in the morning how well I’ve slept the night before. Sure, I can tell when I wake up just how tired I am. But knowing that I was awake for 20 minutes at 3AM, not the four hours I had imagined, is oddly reassuring.
The Google Nest Hub, which is available to order today, can do more. It dims the screen automatically when the lights go off and can play relaxing sounds at a low volume. Come morning, the screen can brighten gently to mimic a sunrise while the alarm is gently turned up.
You can even—and I’ll be honest, I think this could lead to oversleep accidents— wave your hand near the screen to snooze the alarm, thanks to motion-sensing technology.
It’s a smart speaker, so it does much more than measure your sleep, from answering questions to telling jokes, show you the weather and stream Disney+ and more.
It’s so interesting that Google has recognized the people don’t want cameras on devices in intimate places, so has put the absence of a camera front and center. Amazon’s take was different: it has put physical camera covers on some of its Echo Show devices.
Before you go, why not sign up for my AppleUnboxed newsletter, bringing you insider information, reviews, tips, comparisons, news and rumors about the Cupertino giant?
Out on Wednesdays. In the latest issue: an exclusive interview on the design of Apple Watch, the hope for iPhones with bigger batteries, and the HomePod mini and Amazon Echo compared.
Plus, AirPods 3 rumors, cool links from around the web and a one-minute review of Apple Watch SE. You get the first three issues free and you don’t need your credit card to sign up.
