The Nest Hub Max, the large-sized smart display, speaker and virtual assistant by Google, being ... [+]
This story was updated on April 11th. Update below.
Buried in the announcement about Google’s revamped Find My Device network, the company says that its Nest products will play a role in helping users locate lost devices.
For those who missed it, Google has upgraded its Find My Device network and rolled out several new features, including locating offline devices and officially supporting some Bluetooth tags, as my colleague David Phelan explains here.
Google also says that the Find My Device app will show how close a lost device is to a Nest product. The idea is that this will narrow down the search area. Google gives examples of a house key being “last seen near [the] Living Room Speaker.”
Although not the headline news about Google’s upgraded lost-device location network, it’s a smart and valuable use of Nest products that are steadily declining in functionality.
In January, Google announced that Assistant, the AI that powers its smart speakers and displays, was losing 17 features, including setting radio alarms and some cooking instruction skills. The deletion of these skills only served as confirmation to long-time Nest device owners that the products have been lacking for some time.
The Google Home community on Reddit is littered with complaints about slow response times, devices not registering wake words, misunderstanding questions, undeletable reminders, a confusing user interface and not recognizing already in-use devices when trying to control casted media. The company is also shutting down Nest Secure.
Despite the issues, this new Find My Device feature is a small reprieve and a reminder that the Nest range is still very much in Google’s plans. I recently made the argument that Gemini is here to save Nest products if Google decides to replace Assistant. In the meantime, the new Find My Device is a small bonus for people who went all-in on Google’s ecosystem and have a few Nest devices throughout the home.
Google also recently bundled Nest Aware (and FitBit Premium) with Google One, the company’s cloud storage subscription service. Elsewhere, a major Nest Cam and Google Home update last month finally fleshed out the Nest Aware web portal. Nest Cam owners can now view their event timelines, create custom clips and view live feeds from their desktop computers.
In that same update, Google added a “garage door detection” feature that will notify users if they forget to close the garage door, which Google says is possible because of AI-powered image detection. Google has also made it possible to create custom and advanced automation for Google Home products through a new script editor, which I presume is in response to people struggling with the routines feature.
This is all to say that Google has quietly kept the Nest plates spinning with new features, deals and updated services. There’s work to be done on the core functionality of Nest speakers and displays, especially after the recent deletion of some features. Users also need some clarity on Assistant’s future. But recent updates show that Nest hardware isn't dead yet.
Update April 11th: In the Find My Device announcement, Google also said that it is supporting Bluetooth tracker tags that have been developed by Chipolo and Pebblebee. These are Android’s version of Apple’s AirTags and, clearly, something Android users have been crying out for for a while because the first batch of tags has sold out.
Specifically the Chipolo tags, which come as card-shaped and key ring tags. The first batch is sold out and the second batch will start shipping on June 10th, according to Chipolo. The Pebblebee tags don’t appear to be sold out, but Google says the tags from both companies will start shipping from May. That could be a hint at when the updated Find My Device network starts rolling out to more countries outside of the U.S. and Canada.
The tags works with the network to pinpoint their location. The app will then give users prompts if the tag is nearby as they search for it. Tags from both companies have a notification sound feature so users can hear them when lost, while the Pebblebee devices also have an LED light for finding lost tags in the dark.
