Back at it with $99 Google Nest Hub. Available in both colours: chalk/charcoal.
Edit: The Good Guys is selling it for $89.10 with code: DEALS10 - Original deal post
Google Store
JB Hi-Fi
Harvey Norman
Bing Lee
TGG eBay
Bing Lee eBay
Mod: Added links to stores, and extra stores.
If you have a good guys nearby to pick it up from.
agree and also had the $20 concierge credit to use too so I got it for $69.10 through good guys
Can the concierge credit be used online?
yes I ordered online as they treat it as store credit which is separate to the promo codes
Yes, I just did the same. It's a voucher/store credit and can stack with a promo deal like this.
Do you have to buy something to get the comcierge membership?
How did you get the $20 concierge credit ?
Yes. When you sign up for conseirage you will be paying extra. You will get 20$ three times an year
Looks like Amazon has dropped price on some Echo devices to match.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Echo-Family-Echo-Dot-Echo-Spot-Ech…
EDIT: After a refresh, it seems to be showing the discount for the Echo devices.
If anyone has a Telstra account, check your reward points balance before purchasing this. I exchanged 16,000 points and paid $43 to get it delivered from Telstra. You can exchange more points and pay less, if you have them. 30,000 points gets it without paying.
People have Telstra accounts? :-)
Yes they do if you didn’t know, I have one for my home internet, you’d be stupid if you didn’t know that people had Telstra accounts BTW: I know that you are being sarcastic in a way of trying to call Telstra trash in a way, but they are actually a really good service provider if you didn’t know.
Not if you have a problem
lol have you ever had a problem with a Telstra service? I've never met anyone say that about their service, and my experience has invariably been far from "really good".
Cheapest movie tickets I could get when I could go to the movies.
Which is the Google home to go if I want an upgraded speaker compared to the mini? Just for music in the loungeroom
Chromecast Audio + decent bookshelf speakers.
Good luck finding a Chromecast Audio these days.
Google discontinued the Audio because they are dicks. They now go for hundreds of dollars on Gumtree/eBay.
Seriously?! I had no idea. I have at least 2 hanging around that I'm not using…
I was pleased when they added the function to include HDMI Chromecasts to audio groups. Didn't realise that would be the end of Audios. They are so good!
What have I missed out on with Chromecast audio?
2 Google Home Maxes ($200 each) paired in stereo mode, grouped with the original Google Home ($70 on special), is the best stereo setup I’ve ever had, way better than a dedicated amplifier and speaker setup (I’ve tried several such setups). One reason is because I have one Max at each end of the room, resulting in true stereo separation wherever I sit. Another reason is because of the nice bass of the Max, which is its best feature. Finally, the convenience, smart features, and bluetooth function seal the deal. The original Google Home fills in the midrange, which is a bit lacking on the Max.
Better then a $400 set of bookshelf speakers and a Google audio…?
Can't say because I haven't tried that. I can only compare to my old stereo system, which I still have (Sony amplifier with 5 speakers and a subwoofer): My Google Setup sounds much better, and is more fun and easier to control (e.g., I can just say "Hey Google, play Nonagon Infinity" and it starts playing).
the best stereo setup I’ve ever had, way better than a dedicated amplifier and speaker setup
Without wanting to be that guy, there is no way this could possibly be better than a halfway decent amplifier and speakers set up. For nearly $500 you could definitely do better if your only interest was sound quality, doubly do if you're prepared to buy second hand stuff.
You're correct, I was a bit hasty with that declaration. Here's a less biased opinion: to my ears it sounds better than my previous stereo setups. That said, I would not be dismissing the Google setup as worse than any other $500 setup if you haven't tried it in stereo mode.
@ForkSnorter: Fair enough - I only have a nest hub, but I read a bunch of reviews saying that the sound on the max (the one without the screen, whatever that's called) is really impressive and up there with Sonos… which IMHO is still several grades below a decent hi-fi setup.
But that's not why you buy a smart speaker/screen, right? Acceptable sound plus all the AI features is a good combo.
@ForkSnorter: The midrange is definitely lacking though, when volume is below about 40%. That's why I got the Google Home, which fills it in nicely.
Name a setup for $400 that includes an amp, a DAC with wireless connectivity and a pair of bookshelf speakers? I'll even let you off the hook for the cost of an external processor which does room correction. Technically you should be pricing up for two amps and two DACs as that's what you're getting with a pair of Maxes.
The Max is absolutely absurd value for money even before including the added benefit of voice recognition.
@d3ft: You must have not made it to the second sentence where I said "if your only interest was sound quality". And my second post where I made basically the point you are trying to make. Yes, wireless connectivity etc are the killer feature, but NOT sound quality which is good but not great.
Also, OP's setup was nearly $500 not $400. And for that money, for example, I was recently looking at a vintage Yamaha amplifier and some re-capped vintage hi-fi speakers (forget which brand, I look at a lot) that would have come in comfortably under $500 and would also absolutely kill any Google product for sound quality.
@caitsith01: I certainly did. Implicit in my question was "of equal sound quality".
Wireless streaming is no longer a niche feature - I'd argue it's likely a must have for basically everyone these days so comparing a "dumb" setup to a "smart" one is a pointless exercise - as is comparing second hand pricing to new pricing.
The fact is, that for the vast majority of people, a single or pair of Google Home Maxes will give them the best bang for buck in audio - including sound quality. Not having to deal with a bunch of different boxes and cabling is just an added bonus.
Where can you buy Google Home Max from these days? I think they are discontinued??
I've finally given up and switched off the mic on this, just using it as a fancy clock now. The number of times it registers my command, stops to think about it, then decides to ignore me or randomly blast some completely unrelated annoying song… Not going to waste energy getting mad at a machine.
stops to think about it, then decides to ignore me or randomly blast some completely unrelated annoying song
Sounds like my wife….
😂😂
My Lenovo does this nowadays… but my google home hub still works really well.
What do people mainly use this for?
an even more interesting question is, what sort of novel things have people been doing with it?
Bought it to use as a home assistant interface. Then a few days later Google made an update which timed the screen out after a few minutes, making it useless for this purpose…
Though there may be hope: https://community.home-assistant.io/t/using-catt/130332/127
Damn, that's a killer for me. Was looking to get one but didn't know the screen had a forced timeout. thanks for the info
Catt is awesome. Heaps better than HA cast.
@t3chshopper: Some guy on the homeassistant subreddit had a great post featuring his dashboard on a Google Hub.
@t3chshopper: Oh man, this is so much better and super easy to set up!
Still annoying that it had to reload it every 10 minutes, but still great. Might actually be able to get rid of my tablet setup.
I use it to watch TV whilst in the kitchen. Usually Chromecasting the news or the footy whilst cooking. Occasionally use it for recipe instructions or playing music. I prefer using Alexa for controlling smart lights as I find to be more responsive.
We have it in the kitchen, which is open plan with our living room. We use it for playing music, asking basic questions about the weather, the occasional recipe and it works well with our Logitec Harmony setup. The kid also likes asking it basic questions "what noise does a truck make" etc.
So everything you can do in a phone?
Correct, but you don't need to pull your phone out. Its just always sitting there listening for "hey google", it would also have a better speaker and listening distance than a phone. I am planning to use mine as a video door phone. But again, can use your phone for that.
It’s handier than a phone though (I only have a Nest mini) . It’s good for adding items in your calendar, reminders, timers for cooking, asking if a certain store is still open, Saying good morning will tell you appointments/weather/news etc, adding items to a shopping list…hey google add milk and bread to the list (then it’s on both my wife’s and my phone) great to add things while cooking when you run out.
@PVA: Yeah. I think the biggest take away is until you get one, you don't know how useful it is /or whether it is right for you.
I was very much against it, but got a google mini on sale agesss ago. Now I can't see life without it. So handy.
Yes. You can do a lot more on a phone and a phone doesn’t even need to be plugged in to the wall.
However it’s nice to use the hub for the things I’ve mentioned and keep the phones away. We try and have our phones totally put away during the evenings with the kids.
@ChickenTalon: If the phone is nearby, does your phone and hub responds to "hey google" at the same time ? .. how do you avoid that ?
@ChipsChicky: If they both pick up the command it usually defaults to the Home/Nest unless it's a phone specific command. When I say "OK google…." the phone listens then "responding on another device" appears on the assistant for a couple of seconds and it closes.
Play music for my daughter.
Play music for us.
Ask questions whilst cooking eg 200 degrees fahranheit to Celsius
Rough estimate of time to travel to location
Train schedules
Have synced up Reolink camera so can open it up on the hub rather than my phone
All of the above plus reminders (e.g remind me to take the washing out of machine in 3 hours) and timers (usually for cooking)
we also have this in the kitchen, so youtube while we cook/clean. Also hooked up to my Google photos (I have a pixel) so acts as a digital photo frame - DD LOVES it, you can choose whose photos (facial recognition) to display, or album, and the display brightness adjust to the surrounding so it really blends in.
Recipe book is good. I have one in the kitchen. Also, timers, music, tv, front door camera display. Great device…as long as you are in the Google ecosystem.
photo frame (pulling pics from my Google Photos albums I have configured for it)
Weather
Travel times
Looking up recipes
Controlling security system
Controlling Lifx lightbulbs
Playing podcasts
And it makes a nice digital photo frame.
I got one out of curiosity last time they were cheap and it's really surprised me with how useful it is. I just wish the mini had better sound quality.
Does it has builtin camera
No, the hub max does
Thanks @crazyprepman useless then , will go with lenovo. In good guys getting lenovo display+camera for 129. Any pointers for other lenovo or google max deal?
The lenovo camera is only used for video calls. The camera can’t be viewed within Google Home or Nest app.
Agreed. Useless without a camera.
These Lenovo's were 2 for $200 a while ago. Very good except im still trying to figure out how to get it to recognise multiple voices instead of just mine
What does the camera do?
Google Duo video calls, simple gesture control (pause/sstop a song or recipe/timer etc by raising your hand) and also for auto identifying user when they walk in front of it.
@Gravy: "simple gesture control (pause/sstop a song or recipe/timer etc by raising your hand) and also for auto identifying user when they walk in front of it"
only works with the nest hub max not the Lenovo one
@Gravy: The Nest Hub Max camera can also be used for motion detection notifications and continuous recording with a subscription.
Anyone know if this works with mihome or roborock. Looks like we can't actually install apps onto it? Say security system etc?
Yes, you can connect Google Assistant with your Xiaomi devices. Doing with your phone
can you search and watch YouTube movies on this device?
Yes
How's the speakers on this thing?
5/10
The Google home is better I reckon.
Using Spotify on this, does it work like a tablet version or a phone version?
Reason I ask, Free spotify on my tablet has unlimited skips, can choose individual songs. Phone version you can’t, only play albums in random order.
Without premium, you can only play playlists in random order, and limited amount of skips. It's definitely like this on the Nest Hub, but I also thought it's like this on the tablet app?
Tablet works as I have described. A heap better than phone because you can skip, play individual songs etc.
you still have adverts and can’t download but that doesn’t worry me.
On the nest mini, if i Hey Google play xxx then it must connect via my phone or something as it can’t play individual songs. But if I use the tablet spotify and play over the nest then I can do all i mentioned the tablet does.
I thought this nest with screen worked like a tablet where you add apps, but that’s wrong.
So you can play spotify using voice or by casting, so i guess if you cast from your tablet it may work for you. But I would be surprised if you can use spotify as you say on your tablet with only free account.
Tablet works as I have described. A heap better than phone because you can skip, play individual songs etc.
you still have adverts and can’t download but that doesn’t worry me. I only have free Spotify.
On the nest mini, if i Hey Google play xxx then it must connect via my phone or something as it can’t play individual songs. But if I use the tablet spotify and play over the nest then I can do all i mentioned the tablet does.
I thought this nest with screen worked like a tablet where you add apps, but that’s wrong.
Yes I'll send you all my private interactions and conversations on a high gain microphone if I can please give you 100 bucks.
I believe they already glean alot of this through your browsing history and habits, messaging apps, telemetry, your online purchases, and alot of us certainly pay alot more than 100 bucks for our smart phones to give these things away.
Not if you use a privacy conscious services, e.g. Duck Duck Go for search.
Was able to price match TGG deal at JB today morning. Since TGG us too far from my place. Dunno if OW will beat it.
Picked it up and I do like it. Do wish it had a battery inside it so it could sit on the coffee table
Thanks OP, is it possible to play on it YouTube audio only, i.e. no video?
Could 2 of these act as an internal intercom (Audio) between floors on a multi story house?
Yes, using the broadcast function. But I think the message gets played on all google nest/home devices, you can't specify just one.
once google duo is set up you can also target individual speakers e.g "hey google, call kitchen"
No deal
10% off In-Store & Online (Exclusions Apply) @ The Good Guys (eg. Google Nest Hub $89.10) is better value.