Google spoils an otherwise brilliant product with plans to charge for its best feature

Sleep tracking works well; Alarm clock functions are improved; Sounds better than the previous model;

Sleep tracking only free until 2022; Can’t distinguish between two partners’ coughs and snores; Better sound but still not brilliant bass;

The Google Nest Hub (2nd generation) may look very similar to its predecessor, but with Soli radar technology built in, it can track your sleep, making it Google’s most innovative smart display to date. Sleep sensing works well, although you won’t get the detailed statistics a wearable sleep tracker offers, and with handy features such as the Sunrise alarm too, this is a device that will help you both wind down and wake up.

Smart display can track your sleep; Can help you wind down and wake up gently; Watch Netflix, Disney+, and cast other videos on the 7-inch screen;

No camera for video calls; Audio doesn’t have powerful bass; Sleep tracking not as accurate as a wearable

Externally, there's not much to tell the Google Nest Hub (2nd gen) apart from the original. Design-wise that's not a problem, as this is still one of the best-looking smart displays. Inside, you get the Google Soli motion sensor, which gives you gesture control to manage media playback, and this enables the new Sleep Sensing technology, which will tell you how well you slept. In practice, positioning the display properly can be hard if you don't have the right features, and Sleep Sensing wasn't that useful. For owners of the existing Nest Hub, there's not much reason to upgrade, but if you need a new (or second) smart display, this one is great value and works well.

Good price; Clever motion sensing for gestures; Brilliantly combines voice and touchscreen actions;

Not that much new; Sleep Sensing has some tough restrictions;

The Nest Hub 2 improves on an already good smart display but potentially paying for Sleep Sensing in the future puts a big question mark on value.

Sleek design; Good sleep tracking; Quick Gestures; Improved sound;

Laggy at times; Sleep Sensing may cost money;

The Google Nest Hub adds sleep tracking and does so effectively, offering a technical alternative to mats or wearing a tracker. Without sleep tracking, this is a nicely designed smart display with a great user interface and the convenience of many connected services, powered by Google Assistant.

Great design; Nice user interface; Sleep sensing works well; Syncing with Google Fit; YouTube access; Chromecast support; Great smart home hub;

Some hiss when Google Assistant speakers; Sleep Sensing might have future subscription costs; No camera for video calling;

The original Nest Hub was a perfectly capable smart display, but as Google's only model at the time, it felt a bit lacking compared with Amazon's much larger Alexa-powered lineup. The second-generation Nest Hub ($99.99) improves upon it predecessor with a feature you won't find on any other smart display: sleep tracking. Thanks to a built-in Google Soli motion sensing chip, the 7-inch Nest Hub can accurately track your sleeping and breathing when placed on a bedside table. While it still lacks a camera for video calls, it offers several other upgrades, including 50% more bass for improved audio, a Quick Gestures feature that lets you pause or play content simply by waving your hand, and a machine learning chip that caches your common commands for faster response times. Offering tremendous value for the price, the second-generation Nest Hub earns our Editors' Choice award for Google Assistant smart displays. Getting to Know the New Nest Hub At $99.99, the second-gen Nest Hub is deb...

With the ability to track your sleep in addition to all of the voice control capacity of the original, the second-generation Nest Hub smart display is an ideal bedside companion for Google Assistant users.

Tracks sleep and breathing; Intuitive interface; Excellent smart home controls; Google Assistant responds quickly; Compact design

Might attribute co-sleeper's coughing/snoring to you; No camera for video calls

The Google Nest Hub 2 is a fantastic, feature-packed smart display that’s now available at a better price than ever. The sound it’s capable of isn’t going to replace your dedicated audio speakers, and the new Sleep Sensing feature will only be useful if you want a smart display in your bedroom, but in terms of its core smart home control and voice assistance functionality, it’s a slick little performer. It’s just missing a camera for video calling to make it the complete package.

Great for smart home control; Improved sound; Gorgeous digital photo frame; More video streaming options;

No camera;

At this level and with this music and video content support, the Nest Hub is a viable smart home contender

Great streaming service support, Good-value screen, Sleep Sensing tech

Making calls requires app, Basic sound

The second-generation Google Nest Hub offers quite a few features squeezed into a compact and easy-to-live-with device. It is very similar to the first generation but the addition of radar for gestures and sleep tracking is useful.

Pros: sleep tracking without bracelet or headband, good screen, decent speaker, Google Assistant, hand gestures, Cast support for video and music, BBC radio, recycled plastic, no camera for privacy concerns.

Cons: 7in screen a bit small for video, can be a bit slow at times, no camera for video chat.

Here’s the thing about the new $99.99 Nest Hub from Google: it is slow. Compared to almost any other touchscreen device you might own or interact with, the Nest Hub is laggy, sluggish to respond, and has stuttering animations all over the place.

Sleep tracking is easy and reliable, The speaker is better sounding than before, Still an excellent Google Photos digital photo frame

It’s slow, Can’t use the Thread radio or temperature sensor for smart home routines, Did I mention it’s slow?