Google’s I/O 2019 is in full swing, as the latest big tech event, that brought us the Pixel 3a phones. There was also some other hardware there, the Nest Hub Max, which is a home device with a camera integrated. It’s an interesting combo of tablet, smart speaker and security camera.
There’s a 10 inch screen in the mix and what we’re getting here is basically a combo of Google Home Max, Nest Camera and Google Home Hub. The device can also be used as an indoor security camera and it’ll stream live right to your phone. The unit is able to recognize your face when you arrive home and it should also display a personalized home page, including calendar notifications or photos for a slideshow.
This functionality is called Face Match and Google claims that the device processes facial data locally and doesn’t upload it to the cloud. Nest Hub Max makes video calls and it also offers premium stereo sound, plus Google Assistant. You can use it to control lights, Nest’s thermostat and several other Internet of Things gadgets. Specs include a 10.1 inch 1280 x 800 pixel display, a 6.5 MP camera, two 10W tweeters and a 30W subwoofer, Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi ac and Chromecast.
The Nest Hub Max is priced at $229 and ships in the summer. Google made another big announcement, as it plans to rebrand all Home products to Nest. The company bought the Nest company in 2014 for $3.2 billion and created a few thermostats under this name. In the future all Google Home models will be known under the Nest brand, so they’ll probably also get home security features.
