Should you spring for the Nest Hub Max or stick with the Nest Hub?

Nest Hub Max

Bigger and more powerful

$230 at Google

Pros

• Larger display
• Stereo speaker system
• Built-in Nest Cam
• Gestures and Face Match
• Duo Video Call support
• Bluetooth 5.0

Cons

• Only available in two colors
• Too big for a nightstand clock
• Expensive

Google's Nest Hub Max is the more powerful smart home hub, with a larger display and built-in Nest Cam for additional features. However, you're limited to two color options, and it's likely to large to act as a nightstand or a desk clock.

Nest Hub

Small and useful

$130 at Google

Pros

• Compact enough for the nightstand
• Bluetooth 5.0
• Duo Audio call support
• More affordable

Cons

• No Nest Cam built-in
• Single rear speaker

The Nest Hub is Google's gateway into the smart home hub lifestyle with its 7-inch display. This allows for you to put it pretty much anywhere, but you won't get the benefits of a Nest Cam, and the speaker is just okay.

Google waited a year before revealing the Nest Hub Max to the world, and it was for good reason. With more features than the smaller Nest Hub, the Max is one of a kind. As for the Nest Hub, it's still a great smart home hub, and one that should still be considered for your home, but it doesn't hold up enough.

What are you getting with these?

Pictured: Google Nest Hub Max.

The Nest Hub Max leads the way in many of the important categories, such as display size, speakers, and additional features. The display measures in at 10 inches, with a higher 1280x800 resolution, compared to the 7-inch display of the Nest Hub, with a lower 1024x600 resolution.

	Nest Hub Max	Nest Hub
Display	10-inch HD	7-inch
Dimensions	9.85 x 7.19 x 3.99-inches	7.02 x 4.65 x 2.65-inches
Speakers	2x 10W tweeters, 1x 30W woofer	Full-range
Face Match	Yes	N/A
Gesture Control	Yes	No
Camera	6.5MP w/ 127-degree FOV	None
Microphones	2 Far-field	2 Far-field
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.0	Bluetooth 5.0

As for the speakers, the Hub Max wins again as it includes two 10W tweeters, along with a built-in 30W woofer. The standard Hub, on the other hand, only has a single, rear-firing speaker, which sounds just okay. The Hub Max will help spread your music throughout the room. However, both of these support multi-room audio support, so you can have your favorite playlist, YouTube video, or podcast playing everywhere in the house.

Both the Hub Max and the Hub sport two far-field microphones, allowing Google Assistant to pick up your voice. There is also Bluetooth 5.0 on-board for quickly and easily connecting to other speakers or your smartphones.

The Nest Hub Max pulls away

Pictured: Google Nest Hub.

The Nest Hub Max begins separating itself even further with the newly-included Nest Cam, whereas the Nest Hub has no camera. This 6.5-megapixel camera offers a 127-degree field of view, with many similar features to the Nest Cam IQ.

These features include intruder alerts, if you are subscribed to Nest Aware, but don't expect to get great night vision from this camera. Instead, you will still want to rely on a more traditional Nest Cam for security measures.

With the included camera, Google stepped up its game and included some additional features not found elsewhere. One such feature is Face Match, which works with up to six different people. This allows for personalized information and notifications to be shown on the Hub Max once it recognizes your face without worrying about seeing someone else's events for the day.

Perhaps the most exciting new feature is Quick Gestures. This feature allows you to control media playback with nothing more than your hand. For example, if you are in the middle of listening to a song, hold your hand up and look at the screen and the music will stop. Repeat the same motion to get the music playing again. We are hoping to see more gestures added over time, and Google has already stated it is working on new ones.

Decision time

If you're looking for a smart home hub to be your control center, then you would be hard-pressed to find a better option than the Nest Hub Max. It has a larger display with a better resolution, and has all of the same features as the Nest Hub with some pretty great improvements.

The included Nest Cam is great as an additional security measure, along with the added Face Match and Quick Gesture functionalities. You can even use the hardware switch to disable the camera if you would prefer that it not be used for security reasons.

However, the Nest Hub is no slouch, as it is still a great entry-way for those looking to get into the smart home hub world. The 7-inch display isn't as crisp, but still does the job just fine. Plus, with the smaller size, you can use the Hub as a bedside clock without needing to clear a bunch of extra room.

The single speaker is just fine if you are listening to a YouTube video or podcast, and will make sure you are awake. Without a camera, there is no worry for privacy concerns, but you don't get the added benefits either.

Nest Hub Max

Bigger and more powerful

$230 at Google

A more powerful, and more useful, Hub.

The Nest Hub Max can act as your central point for your smart home lifestyle. With its bigger display, better speakers, and included Nest Cam, you get all of the benefits of the Nest Hub, with more features.

Nest Hub

Small and useful

Perfect for a bedside alarm clock

$130 at Google

The standard Nest Hub only has a single speaker, a smaller display, and lacks the Nest Cam. However, there's still a place in the home for a product like the Nest Hub.