Updates January 14, 2021: Nest now appears in the list of brands while setting up a new device in your Samsung SmartThings app. Awesome! Want to control your Nest cameras, thermostats, doorbells, and more via the Samsung SmartThings app? Samsung and Google have joined forces and beginning in January 2021, You can do all of […]
Smart Home
Nest Hubs and Assistant-enabled speakers are receiving a Guest Mode
We’ve heard rumors of a Guest Mode on Nest Hub and assistant speakers for some time now, but it had yet to materialize. Today, Google announced that it was, in fact, a real thing and it’s already becoming available. Guest Mode allows other people in your home – be they family members or just friends […]
The casting tone for your Nest devices is being updated to sound more pleasant
Your Nest Hubs, speakers, and more are now receiving an updated ‘casting tone’. When you choose a device to cast to, you generally hear the following sound. It’s Google’s way of giving you an audible confirmation that you’ve successfully linked your device to the speaker or display. The old tone just below has a sort […]
The Nest Cam IQ Outdoor has been discontinued as a new lineup of security cameras is being planned
The Nest Cam IQ Outdoor has been in and out of stock around the world for a little while now and it wasn’t until today that Google gave word to several outlets that they have no intention of restocking it – it’s officially been discontinued. The Nest Cam IQ Outdoor is their, well, outdoor camera […]
The next Nest Hub could have gesture controls, according to a new mystery device’s FCC filing
A new FCC filing for a Google-made device has just appeared to kick off our excitement for what the company may be planning for 2021. The device in question could possibly be a new Nest Hub with Google’s Project Soli chip integrated. Project Soli started out in the Pixel 4 phone and was used to […]
The Nest Mini is dirt cheap right now if you need one to round out your smart home
This week, many people are sorting through their new belongings and taking inventory of what they now have to work with in their smart home setup. I know I gifted quite a few smart home devices this year and last, too, so I’m sure Google Assistant was front and center in many homes last week […]
The Google Home Max is back in stock and too cheap to ignore
Just when we thought our favorite Google Home speaker was completely done for, it has made a resurgence on the Google Store and it is nearly as affordable as it has ever been. Sure, there have been a few flash sales that got it down to $149 a few times in 2020, but they never […]
The Nest Detect is out of stock and won’t return until after the new year
Upon visiting the Google Store to buy an extra Nest Detect for my one unguarded window, I found that its splash page is covered by a large banner stating that it’s now out of stock until early 2021 – bummer. I guess I’ll have to cover that window with an attack cat dog or go […]
These Dyson appliances will now work with your Google Assistant-enabled devices
Dyson is the latest company to add support for Google Assistant-enabled devices like the Nest Hub, for example. Several of their products will also receive the newly created ‘Works with Hey Google’ badge on their packaging as well. You can now invoke the Assistant after you go through the seamless setup process and link your […]
Google Meet gets more live caption languages, a redesigned Nest Hub Max experience, and more
After Zoom announced that they were going to allow their software to run on Nest Hub Max, they also dropped news of extending their 24-hour calls through March of 2021. Now, Google is rivaling that with its own extension on unlimited 24-hour calls in the free version of Google Meet through March 31, 2021, for […]
Google Assistant-enabled device boxes to receive a new badge that indicates an easier setup process
Google wants to make its hardware ecosystem as approachable as its software services. In order to do so, they’ve launched several initiatives to clearly mark boxes with a badge to indicate that a specific accessory or product works best with their own as with their Works with Chromebook program. They also created the Works with […]
As we predicted, Apple TV is officially arriving on Chromecast with Google TV
Via blog post, Google has made it official: Apple TV is coming to Google TV early in 2021. Yes, you are reading this correctly and, yes, it feels a bit strange to see these two companies playing so well together on this. Putting that aside, the move makes total sense in quite a few ways. […]