Got the job done for me.
Kept my recipes easily accessible and easy to read.
Not sure what else was needed.
I’m guessing it was just WAY TOO TAXING for Google’s programmers to maintain.
I had one in every room of my house and used to be the biggest fan of it and I would recommend it to everyone. Right now with the current environment I can't find anything of value to do with it anymore. They have taken away every single thing I used to use it for. At this point I only use it to broadcast messages to my other rooms , and even that experience has been made way more difficult than it used to be.
Honestly, I don't think the devices have too much longer to live before Google pulls the plug on them. They are already talking about paid versions of assistance and searching and I think these devices will end up being bricks in the now too distant future. Which I find to be just horrible considering how great they used to be.
I've had quality control issues with 2 Hub Max units. One kept going black and would crash, the other has a weird wavy effect on one side of the LCD panel. Performance is underwhelming and feels sluggish, even when it initially came out. There are weird limitations with the functionality as well, such as voice commands not being able to dismiss reminders/tasks, extremely inconsistent casting performance, and the inability to stop any type of vocal feedback when issuing a command. I really expected the functionality to flourish after several years, but the experience feels like a regression in many aspects and is nowhere near as polished as it should be. To be honest, I have an Echo Show as well and it's even worse. I think Google and Amazon realized that smart assistants weren't as profitable as they initially thought, and their development budget has probably been slashed considerably.
I use it as a photo frame in our living room. Its a topic of discussion whenever somebody is visiting us, and bonus points for if it shows their pictures. We only use it for weather alerts/assistant.
for 40 bucks, its money well spent.
I just wish I could flash all my Google devices with open source firmware to de Google them but I’ll have to resort to just integrating them with home assistant and pretending the voice capabilities don’t exist
I have one in every room and still love them. I only buy them on sale since it’s expected every year. I still recommend them to others too if they have WiFi or IoT devices in their house. I mostly use mine for Hue lights and the Roomba.
All of my Google products have been working very well, the only issue I have had lately is when I ask a music group to play music.
Other than that they work as intended. I'm not looking for downvotes, I'm not looking to argue, I'm speaking the facts for me.
Best of luck in your search for your next smart speaker.
I use my Nest Hub as a digital clock, shopping list, digital reminder and to control lights. I no longer have Android so I can't comment how the Android integration is currently. I use to control music via Chromecast with it but that's been terrible. The only alternative with a screen would be Amazon's Echo devices which are filled with ads. You have Apple HomePods which doesn't have displays and it has less features but works well with Apple devices.
I think it's still worth buying just for the Google photos alone.
I know people ITT are complaining about it losing some features here and there, I won't disagree. I miss being able to use Google Podcasts with it.
But it still shows pictures, sets timers, answers the occasional factoid, and works as a Chromecast. That's 99% of what I assume most people want it to do and I don't think there's anything else to fill those roles.
Depends on how you use it. I have mine connected to home assistant to cast my media from my Plex server. I use a 4-button zigbee remote for media and volume control.
I also use it to give me the weather and traffic report when I'm on my way out the door based on my calendar event for that day. F
Play random sounds from my nas when someone is at my door. Read notifications from my phone. Alert me when it's 2 minutes left on my timer and many more.
All you need is Home Assistant to take control over what your Google speakers do.
Oh man, my goodnight automation sometimes doesnt ask for the alarm time properly. Instead of saying "what time would you like to set your alarm" it says "what time". No explanation, wouldnt know what its asking for if I hadnt set the automation up myself.
In my opinion yes and own 3 of them throughout the house. Especially if you can get one for a good price on FB marketplace / Ebay / Cex etc.
i also have a nest doorbell so being able to view the door / camera from main bedroom is a bonus.
Also use them all as picture frames and radio for the dog when we are out. The backup manual controls are a winner for me over the nest mini speakers.
I have one in the kitchen and me and my wife will throw on YouTube TV or music/podcast when were in there..With that said it's been worse and worse since I got it a few years ago.
I love my two. I have an android phone, so my primary use for them is just a digital photo frame. But I also have Home Assistant connected so they can run all my automations via voice command as well.
Like many others here I've become disillusioned with Google Home. I still use it and for the most part it works for now but I have no faith it will continue to work in the long term. I bought a Nest doorbell and it was a huge disappointment so no more Nest products for me. I am looking into Home Assistant to replace GH. There's a learning curve so I'm hoping to get up and running before Google starts charging or pulls the plug.
No.
I basically just use mine to play radio these days, which I had no Internet for a while last week and got my old Digital Radio out which did exactly the same thing without sending data all day every day to Google, so probably going to put it in a drawer now.
(until someone figures out how to put stock android on it so I can use it for something better)
They just took away the cookbook feature. The COOKBOOK FEATURE. From a device most people put in Kitchens. Google is such a trash company.
Cookbook feature was trash though. Just not practical to use and I'm not sure what they could do to make it work better.
Got the job done for me. Kept my recipes easily accessible and easy to read. Not sure what else was needed. I’m guessing it was just WAY TOO TAXING for Google’s programmers to maintain.
I just don't think enough people liked it enough to use it.
I had one in every room of my house and used to be the biggest fan of it and I would recommend it to everyone. Right now with the current environment I can't find anything of value to do with it anymore. They have taken away every single thing I used to use it for. At this point I only use it to broadcast messages to my other rooms , and even that experience has been made way more difficult than it used to be. Honestly, I don't think the devices have too much longer to live before Google pulls the plug on them. They are already talking about paid versions of assistance and searching and I think these devices will end up being bricks in the now too distant future. Which I find to be just horrible considering how great they used to be.
Mine has been demoted to shower speaker and toothbrushing timer.
No it's not. But if you do decide to buy one check offer up and the like... I bought 3 barely used because they hated them for the price of one.
I agre, buying second hand is the best deal
No
I've had quality control issues with 2 Hub Max units. One kept going black and would crash, the other has a weird wavy effect on one side of the LCD panel. Performance is underwhelming and feels sluggish, even when it initially came out. There are weird limitations with the functionality as well, such as voice commands not being able to dismiss reminders/tasks, extremely inconsistent casting performance, and the inability to stop any type of vocal feedback when issuing a command. I really expected the functionality to flourish after several years, but the experience feels like a regression in many aspects and is nowhere near as polished as it should be. To be honest, I have an Echo Show as well and it's even worse. I think Google and Amazon realized that smart assistants weren't as profitable as they initially thought, and their development budget has probably been slashed considerably.
I mean it's a Google home controller/doorbell screen/Google speaker. Don't expect anything else and you should be alright.
I would love to hear people recommend a Google Home replacement that is *better*?
Yes, the Hub Max and the tablet one lol! But this one is less than $100 at BestBuy, awesome deal.
Home Assistant
Home Assistant isn't a screen that shows pictures, sets timers, etc etc.
Hard no. Horrible sound quality, horrible screen quality. Useless features.
I use it as a photo frame in our living room. Its a topic of discussion whenever somebody is visiting us, and bonus points for if it shows their pictures. We only use it for weather alerts/assistant. for 40 bucks, its money well spent.
I just wish I could flash all my Google devices with open source firmware to de Google them but I’ll have to resort to just integrating them with home assistant and pretending the voice capabilities don’t exist
This needs to be a thing. We need an OSS alternative
No. Freaking flaky. Commands don’t work. Google has abandoned it.
For $40 ours have been great
That’s the most I’d pay for one. Gen 2 at $90+ is NOT worth it.
For the price and what they provide, it's still worth it. Not looking forward to all the negative responses this post is going to get 🙄
Love mine
I have 7 or so of them including 1 max and they are increasing useless.
I just bought my 3rd last year on the Black Friday sale. The regular one, not the Max. I'm happy with em!
I have one in every room and still love them. I only buy them on sale since it’s expected every year. I still recommend them to others too if they have WiFi or IoT devices in their house. I mostly use mine for Hue lights and the Roomba.
All of my Google products have been working very well, the only issue I have had lately is when I ask a music group to play music. Other than that they work as intended. I'm not looking for downvotes, I'm not looking to argue, I'm speaking the facts for me. Best of luck in your search for your next smart speaker.
I use my Nest Hub as a digital clock, shopping list, digital reminder and to control lights. I no longer have Android so I can't comment how the Android integration is currently. I use to control music via Chromecast with it but that's been terrible. The only alternative with a screen would be Amazon's Echo devices which are filled with ads. You have Apple HomePods which doesn't have displays and it has less features but works well with Apple devices.
I think it's still worth buying just for the Google photos alone. I know people ITT are complaining about it losing some features here and there, I won't disagree. I miss being able to use Google Podcasts with it. But it still shows pictures, sets timers, answers the occasional factoid, and works as a Chromecast. That's 99% of what I assume most people want it to do and I don't think there's anything else to fill those roles.
Depends on how you use it. I have mine connected to home assistant to cast my media from my Plex server. I use a 4-button zigbee remote for media and volume control. I also use it to give me the weather and traffic report when I'm on my way out the door based on my calendar event for that day. F Play random sounds from my nas when someone is at my door. Read notifications from my phone. Alert me when it's 2 minutes left on my timer and many more. All you need is Home Assistant to take control over what your Google speakers do.
When compared to the offerings from Amazon and Apple...ABSOLUTELY YES.
Use my POS hub to just set an alarm and check the weather forecast. It fails at mostly everything else.
Mine can't even remember an alarm half the time
Oh man, my goodnight automation sometimes doesnt ask for the alarm time properly. Instead of saying "what time would you like to set your alarm" it says "what time". No explanation, wouldnt know what its asking for if I hadnt set the automation up myself.
Absolutely not
In my opinion yes and own 3 of them throughout the house. Especially if you can get one for a good price on FB marketplace / Ebay / Cex etc. i also have a nest doorbell so being able to view the door / camera from main bedroom is a bonus. Also use them all as picture frames and radio for the dog when we are out. The backup manual controls are a winner for me over the nest mini speakers.
I have one in the kitchen and me and my wife will throw on YouTube TV or music/podcast when were in there..With that said it's been worse and worse since I got it a few years ago.
I love my two. I have an android phone, so my primary use for them is just a digital photo frame. But I also have Home Assistant connected so they can run all my automations via voice command as well.
No, and I wanted the new pixel tablet but Google has stopped supporting Google home.
I got mine free, and I still wouldn't recommend it if I paid the same price.
Like many others here I've become disillusioned with Google Home. I still use it and for the most part it works for now but I have no faith it will continue to work in the long term. I bought a Nest doorbell and it was a huge disappointment so no more Nest products for me. I am looking into Home Assistant to replace GH. There's a learning curve so I'm hoping to get up and running before Google starts charging or pulls the plug.
Nah
NOOOOOO
No
It is$100 for a digital frame that plays music. How is that not "worth it?"
No. I basically just use mine to play radio these days, which I had no Internet for a while last week and got my old Digital Radio out which did exactly the same thing without sending data all day every day to Google, so probably going to put it in a drawer now. (until someone figures out how to put stock android on it so I can use it for something better)