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Nest Hub vs Nest Hub Max: 5 Reasons I Upgraded

2022 · From the Tech with Asher channel · Watch below or read on

Ninety percent of the time, my Nest Hub Max displays exactly what the smaller, cheaper Nest Hub displayed: the clock. So why did I pay for the upgrade? Here are the five honest reasons, including the one that actually closed the deal, and the gripe I still have.

1. Ten inches changes the room

Think of it as iPad Mini versus full iPad. Across a living room, the smaller Hub makes you squint; the Max you can simply read. Notifications, video, the works, the viewing angles and size just work at a distance. If the device will live more than an arm's length away, the bigger screen is the whole argument.

2. The glance replaces the question

I got tired of saying the words what is the temperature outside. With the weather frog face, time and forecast sit together on screen all day. But here is my standing complaint, and I mean it, Google: let us make the font bigger. From across the room, the time and temperature are still set too small for anyone whose eyes have opinions. The display can do it; the setting does not exist. For households with older eyes, this matters more than any spec.

3. A real speaker system

The Max carries a 2.1 speaker arrangement instead of the small Hub's single driver, and the back grille conceals a genuinely large speaker. Good sound, not thunderous, but a clear step past the little Hub for music while cooking.

4. The camera, used deliberately

The Max adds a camera; the small Hub has none. I am personally wary of cameras in home devices, you never really know who could be looking, so I appreciate that a physical button on the back disables it. Used on your terms, it earns its place: peek at the house remotely like a camera while traveling, or make video calls. Just know the calling side leans on Google's services, so it is a bonus feature, not the main event.

5. The doorbell view closed the deal

We have a Nest doorbell, and on the small Hub, seeing who rang meant squinting at a postage stamp. On the Max, the visitor appears big and instantly. That single daily moment, who is at the door, answered from the kitchen, is what actually justified the upgrade.

Should you upgrade?

If your home already runs Nest gear, thermostat, doorbell, cameras, the Max is the natural screen for all of it, and at the right price the answer is yes. If your Hub mostly shows the clock on a bedside table, keep it and keep your money; the little one does that job perfectly.