Grab the second-generation Google Nest Hub for almost half price before it’s too late

By James On Dec 26, 2023

Google fans rejoice: the Google Nest Hub is once again discounted at a fantastic low price during the post-Christmas sale. Right now you can score it for just $59.98 at Walmartsaving you $40 on one of the best smart displays.

This camera-less smart display boasts several excellent specs and features, including Sleep Sensing (although this will be integrated into Fitbit Premium next year – more on that below). If you use a Google-based smart home, this is a must-have.

Although it was released in 2021, the second-generation Google Nest Hub is still the most recent smart home hub released by the tech giant. We scored it a respectable four out of five stars in our review, although it's worth noting that Google has stripped back some features and there's a somewhat foggy future for its smart home lineup – details of which are below. below and are definitely worth reading before you buy.

Now let's briefly talk about the future of Google's smart home. It's been almost three years since we've seen new hubs from Google, and while for a while I was excited about the big news to come, I'm becoming increasingly nervous given some of Google's Fitbit news this year that there could potentially be pose problems for Google smart home fans.

In 2023 alone, we saw more features removed from Google's hubs than added, also compared to Amazon's ever-expanding skill set and Apple's somewhat stagnant but solid approach.

For example, the aforementioned Sleep Sensing feature was free to watch in 2023, but Google plans to integrate it into Fitbit Premium, a subscription-based service, in 2024. Support for some features on Zoom and Meet ended in September, support for Dropcam ended in April, and a host of other Google Assistant voice apps also took the hit.

There could be plenty of reasons why development has slowed in Google's smart home labs. Google's Gemini LLM could be a big factor here, with the tech giant potentially vying to develop the most advanced smart assistant possible, but that doesn't necessarily explain some of the more economical decisions Google has made in recent months.

Do I think it would be a really dumb idea for Google to make its existing smart hubs obsolete in favor of next-generation devices? Absolutely, especially since it hasn't exactly won the favor or trust of its fans this year. Do I still think there's a chance? Yes, a small one, but a chance nonetheless. So buy with caution.