There are indications that Google is working on a new Nest Hub Max to replace the now five-year-old model. That’s good news for anyone worried that the Pixel tablet could replace Google’s smart displays, as the tablet launched with some features and accessories that made it an “almost” replacement.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and realized that Google needs to combine Nest Hub and Pixel Tablet and create something new and better.
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A new Nest Hub Max running an instance of Gemini Nano is something Google could easily create. Imagine a Pixel tablet in a larger body, without a battery, with an extra speaker or two, and you’re almost there. I’m not saying hardware design is easy, but this sounds more like a hardware mod than a major engineering project.
Android is easy to modify on the software side, so a Home interface that looks and feels like the existing Nest Hub software can be added, and anything that complicates it can be removed or hidden.
You would have a screen with a touch interface if necessary, a camera and/or a sleep sensor array, a speaker that sounds good, and apps like Chrome and YouTube for a good media experience. The ability to install things like the Netflix or Spotify app could make it one of the best smart home devices you can buy.
More importantly, you can replace Google Assistant with Google Gemini running on the device. This is where Gemini Nano comes into play and that would be the best thing about it.
Gemini Nano means smart AI “stuff” runs largely on your device without feedback to the Google mothership. It’s built into the Pixel 8 and Galaxy S24 and supports various tools and all sorts of fancy camera tricks.
It’s an important step forward for Google’s AI team, as until now almost everything had to run via the cloud. Google still offers larger and more powerful AI models like Gemini Ultra that rely heavily on cloud computing, but with Gemini Nano, a mobile CPU and a bit more memory you can do a lot of things locally.
This is important. Local computing means everything is more private, done faster and doesn’t rely on a good internet connection. I don’t care if Google knows how often I turn the lights on or off or if I asked what the square root of 15 is (3.87, I saved you a click). However, I might be interested in the next smart display feature. And if AI processing is going to happen on a camera-equipped device in my bedroom, I would prefer it to happen locally. I could You can peel off the tape covering the lens. Could.
Even better, Gemini can do many things better and faster than Google Assistant. Yes, I know that Assistant can do some things that Gemini can’t or has difficulty doing, but I assure you that Google is working on Gemini and wants to completely replace Assistant. Out with the old and in with the new, even if it doesn’t always work 100%. This is the Google way.
Gemini means a home hub can be more than just a light switch or a way to see who’s knocking on the front door. The way it can analyze information and do other things with it is what AI is good at, and as a bonus, it can better interpret the things we tell it. Here at Chez Hildenbrand, we like to call out Google to add things to the shopping list. Gemini can do this better because they understand us better. This is pretty important for a voice-controlled device. I have no doubt that Gemini will eventually power smart displays.
This would also be in Google’s best interest. Selling a Gemini Nano powered Nest Hub “Ultra Max Pro” (or some other silly name) that does everything it says on the box. Power users could purchase more powerful versions of the Gemini AI model if necessary, assuming Google finds a way to develop compelling features with them.
I used to think it was a bad idea to replace a cheap smart display with another Android device like the Pixel Tablet because there was no benefit worth the cost. With the release of Gemini Nano, I’m not so sure anymore.
I still want to see a simple (and cheap) Nest Hub that works just as (annoyingly) as it does now, but I also want to see more. And better. Google can do this, and it could if the company thinks it’s something we want to buy. I feel like people will want to buy it if they understand why.