Product Library / Hubs & Controllers
Research profile · last verified 2026-07-19Google Nest Hub (2nd gen)
Compatibility
| Ecosystem | Support | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Google Home | WorksWorks with this ecosystem | Acts as a Google Home hub, a Matter controller and a Thread border router (802.15.4 at 2.4GHz) per Google's own spec page. The asterisk is directional: Gemini for Home permanently replaces Google Assistant home-wide, and Google documents no way back. |
| Amazon Alexa | Doesn't workVerified: does not work with this ecosystem | Google's spec page scopes the hub role explicitly to 'Works as a hub for Google Home', and Google publishes no Alexa compatibility for its own display hardware. Evidence is absence of a vendor claim rather than a vendor denial — verified 2026-07-19 against store.google.com/us/product/nest_hub_2nd_gen_specs. |
| Apple Home | Doesn't workVerified: does not work with this ecosystem | Not an Apple Home accessory — the Hub is a controller for Google's own fabric, and Google lists no Apple Home compatibility. Evidence is absence of a vendor claim rather than a vendor denial — verified 2026-07-19 against store.google.com/us/product/nest_hub_2nd_gen_specs. |
| SmartThings | Doesn't workVerified: does not work with this ecosystem | Google's spec text scopes the hub role to Google Home only, and no SmartThings path is published. Evidence is absence of a vendor claim rather than a vendor denial — verified 2026-07-19 against store.google.com/us/product/nest_hub_2nd_gen_specs. |
| Home Assistant | PartialPartial support — see the catch | Chromecast is built in, so Home Assistant can cast dashboards and media to the display. There is no Google-documented Home Assistant control path, and the Thread border router is bound to Google's Matter fabric. This level rests on the Chromecast spec line, not on any Google statement about Home Assistant. |
Protocols: WIFI · BLUETOOTH · THREAD · MATTER
Subscription reality
◐ Works without a subscription: Yes, but material features need a plan.
- Free: Smart home control, media, alarms and timers, calendar/notes/lists, Q&A (Gemini for Home basic tier), Sleep Sensing via the Soli radar — still a free preview, no payment information required
- Behind a plan: Gemini Live, Camera livestream and history search, Home Brief
Google Home Premium gates Gemini Live, camera livestream/history search and Home Brief. Tier prices were NOT verified — Google's own pricing help page declines to state them and redirects to the Store, which does not render for automated fetch. Sleep Sensing's announced move to a paid Fitbit Premium tier has not happened as of 2026-07-19; it remains a free preview five years on.
Maintenance reality
- Cloud dependence: Yes — a server shutdown would degrade or brick this device
- No camera on this model (the Hub Max has one). Soli radar handles Motion Sense and Sleep Sensing on-device.
The catch
It is listed at $99.99 and cannot actually be bought from Google — all four colours were out of stock on 2026-07-19 with no end-of-life notice published. Treat availability as unresolved rather than as either current or discontinued. Separately, opting into Gemini for Home removes Google Assistant across your whole home, permanently, by Google's own documentation.
Who it's for
Google-ecosystem households that want a Thread border router and Matter controller in a display, and who are comfortable that the voice assistant is mid-migration and the hardware's availability is unclear.
Sources & method
https://store.google.com/us/product/nest_hub_2nd_gen_specs — verbatim spec text: '802.11b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz/5GHz) Wi-Fi', 'Bluetooth 5.0', 'Chromecast built in', 'Thread border router built-in (802.15.4 at 2.4 GHz)', 'Matter', 'Works as a hub for Google Home' — vendor-page research, verified 2026-07-19 · https://store.google.com/us/config/nest_hub_2nd_gen — $99.99 list, all four colours carry 'Out of stock' and schema.org/OutOfStock; no discontinuation or 'no longer available' wording anywhere in page source — vendor-page research, verified 2026-07-19 · https://support.google.com/googlehome/answer/16618650 — 'upgrades and replaces the Google Assistant on speakers and smart displays'; 'Once you switch your home to Gemini for Home voice assistant, it can't switch back to Google Assistant'; Gemini Live, camera livestream/history search and Home Brief listed as Google Home Premium — vendor-support-doc research, verified 2026-07-19 · https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/10357290 — 'you won't be required to add payment information as the preview is available at no extra charge' — vendor-support-doc research, verified 2026-07-19 · https://store.google.com/us/product/nest_hub_2nd_gen_specs — hub role scoped to 'Works as a hub for Google Home'; Google publishes no Alexa/Apple Home/SmartThings compatibility for its own display hardware. Weaker evidence than a documented denial; flagged for re-check against Amazon/Apple/SmartThings primary docs. — vendor-page research (absence-of-claim), verified 2026-07-19. This is a research profile: compiled from manufacturer documentation, certification registries, and published testing — we state facts, not verdicts, and we have not physically tested this unit. How we work →
Compatibility and lifecycle information reflects the last-verified date above and can change without notice (firmware updates, cloud-service changes, discontinuations). It is provided as-is, for information — verify with the manufacturer before purchasing. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it. Full terms: Terms of Service.