by Peter Claridge-Bowler

The Google Nest Hub Max is a smart display developed by Google. It’s designed to be a central hub for controlling smart home devices, accessing information, and interacting with Google Assistant, which is Google’s virtual voice assistant.

What is Google Assistant?
The Google Assistant is a digital voice assistant that can be controlled by voice or touch gestures on a screen (depending on what kind of Google assistant you have).
The Google Assistant is designed to assist in the automation of your home/everyday life, the ability to look up information and control linked devices within your household; all by using your voice or the touch screen, this device comes in a variety of sizes, from a small speaker to a 14-inch touch screen.

First impressions and physical description
When taking the Google Nest Hub Max out of the box, you’ll find it has a glass screen and a fabric speaker built-in together, first impressions I was surprised by the weight of the device: it felt very sturdy, and I didn’t worry about knocking it over. The glass screen has a nice feel to it, there were several small switches on the back of the screen, for volume and mute controls.
Setting up the device
Setting up the device was quick and relatively simple. To set up the device for it to function you’ll need to download the Google Home app onto your smart device. You will need to log in to your Google account (unfortunately a Google account is required). Once set up with your Google account, you can access all the different features.
It doesn’t come with an internal power supply so will need to be plugged in. Now you’re ready to go.

What are some of the features?
Well, one of the main features of the Google Nest Hub Max is that instead of using the wake word “Okay Google” it can detect when your face is pointing towards the screen via the internal camera. Though if you are visually impaired this may be a little bit tricky to work out which way the unit is exactly. It can make video calls to relatives who have devices linked to Google Meet. It can also tell you how long it will take you to get to a location factoring in traffic conditions and routes.

First time using the device
When I first used the device, I was rather confused, for example, I would ask it to read me a recipe, and it would find them and say “here are some pasta recipes” but wouldn’t tell me what was on the screen. To say I was either disappointed or aggravated is an understatement. I decided to go to Google to do a little research and it turns out the device has a built-in screen reader. To enable it, you need to go to the Google Home app settings, and select accessibility and screen reader. It took a little while to get the hang of the touch gestures for the device, but once I did, it became rather quick to access and read information.

I’ve been using the device for a few days, here are my thoughts
At first, I wasn’t entirely sure about the device, but the more I used it and got more familiar with it, I found it a breeze. The Google Nest Hub Max is fast and responsive, it has the uncanny ability to remember context for questions, it’s able to show me all the different recipes that I ask for, and can access YouTube, which is great for easy access to entertainment. I also found that when playing music it doesn’t just use the music subscription that you are using, it’ll search the web / YouTube for the version of the song you are after when prompted.

Another feature is that you can link the Google Hub to different devices around your home and control them directly from the unit itself. For example, adjusting aircon/digital thermostats, controlling lighting, adding items to shopping lists, or setting regular alarms or timers. This connectivity allows you to manage your day-to-day life more easily and conveniently.

Once I had gotten used to the control system, I found it intuitive and surprising how it remembers context for questions and would be able to answer follow-up questions for that subject. The built-in screen reader allowed me to explore the touch screen and gain more information, searching for video content that I might not have been able to find with the voice control. This meant that searches could be more accurate and in-depth.
Additionally, I’d say that the sound quality of the device is extremely good, with clear speech from the screen reader to rich sound and vibrant bass for playing music. The Google Assistant’s voice is equally crisp and easy to understand.

My final thoughts
The Google Home Hub Max is a great digital assistant for your home. It’s very responsive and I find the experience to be fun in several different ways, asking it to tell me a joke or play me a YouTube clip, you can also access the Google Play Store.

I would use it all the time to explore new music or play YouTube videos. Finding songs that are only available through YouTube gave me a great sense of nostalgia and discovery.
The price of the unit is a little bit higher than an Alexa; the average cost is about €200 at the time of writing this.
I’m told the screen quality is clear and sharp, with a high screen resolution. I also found the voice on the Google Nest Hub Max very clear to hear and easy to understand. The Google Assistant is always receiving updates and improvements so who knows what will come in the future of the product.