Also announced at the ‘Made by Google’ event: Pixel 3 & 3 XL, Pixel Slate and Chromecast 3. Read our initial Pixel 3 review and Pixel 3 XL review. (See new rumours of a 10in Google Home Hub with camera coming our way in 2019.)
Google Home Hub Pricing & Availability
During its 9 October 2018 ‘Made by Google’ hardware launch event, Google confirmed that the Home Hub would be available to pre-order immediately. As of 22 October is it on sale in the UK, US and Australia direct from Google. You can also buy it through Currys, Argos, John Lewis, Tesco and Carphone Warehouse. The Home Hub costs $149 in the US, and £139 in the UK. It also comes with a free six-month subscription to YouTube Music Premium (otherwise £11.99/month) when bought before 31 December 2018. Once you’ve got your Google Home Hub, see how to set it up in minutes. (You’ll also like: Best Google Home: Google Home vs Mini vs Max vs Hub)
What is Google Home Hub?
The Home Hub is Google Home as you know it, but so much better. In common with all Google Home devices it is a smart speaker encased in soft fabric with rounded corners, and available in four colours: Sand, Aqua, Chalk and Charcoal. It can be hooked up to the other speakers in the range with support for multi-room audio.
But Home Hub stands apart from its siblings with its 7in floating display – large enough to view from across the room, but small enough to sit unobtrusively in any corner of your home. Not content with simply telling you about your day ahead Home Hub can show you. It can play your favourite tunes – then show you the dance moves. For any query you have it can find a tutorial video, and it can connect with your smart home tech to do cool things like control heating and lighting in separate rooms and even show you who is at the door. Indeed, Google Home Hub is the best device on which to manage all your various smart home tech through a single interface, and it supports more than 2 million devices from over 1,000 brands. A swipe down from the top of the screen brings up a Home View control centre for all your connected devices. This more intuitive approach also filters through to the new Google Home app.
Google says Google Assistant requests have shot up by 400 percent in the past year, and with Home Hub we reckon that number will rocket. Using Voice Match it recognises the different voices of each member of the family, offering each a personalised experience. Filters can be set up to ensure only family-friendly content is viewed by younger members of the household. The new smart speaker is designed to fit seamlessly in every room of the house. In the bedroom there’s Ambient EQ to match the lighting – and no cameras to encroach on your privacy. In the kitchen the ability to control it via voice or with a tap means no sticky fingers on the screen as you follow your favourite recipes, set timers and convert measurements.
At night Google Home Hub will automatically turn off the screen, and there’s a downtime mode for when you want some peace and quiet. At other times when not in use it will scroll through your memories, with deep integration with Google Photos allowing it to display any albums you’ve uploaded or that has been shared with you, and it uses machine learning to filter out the duds and duplicates. New Live Albums let you select only photos of certain people to display.
Google Home Hub Specifications
7in touchscreen displayFull-range speaker (80dB SPL @ 1KHzGoogle Assistant built-in2x far-field micsAmbient EQ Light SensorMulti-room audioDual-band 802.11ac Wi-FiBluetooth 5.0178.5×67.3x118mm480g15W power adaptor1.5m power cable
Read next: Funny things to ask Google Assistant Marie is Editor in Chief of Tech Advisor and Macworld. A Journalism graduate from the London College of Printing, she’s worked in tech media for more than 17 years, managing our English language, French and Spanish consumer editorial teams and leading on content strategy through Foundry’s transition from print, to digital, to online - and beyond.
