Smart Displays / Google
Google Nest Hub (2nd gen)
Old hardware, no ads, no camera — and the cheapest Thread border router with a screen.
Overall score 6.9/10
Pros
- + A genuine Thread border router at $99.99 — no Echo Show under $180 can say that
- + No camera and a real hardware mic cut-off: the best privacy story in the category
- + No sponsored content on the ambient screen, unlike every Echo Show
- + Sleep Sensing via Soli radar is still free, and still unique
Cons
- − Five-year-old hardware at its full 2021 launch price of $99.99
- − Google has stripped most of the on-device 'apps' since 2021 — Netflix, Podcasts, Meet, Reminders and more have gone
- − Google's 2026 replacement is a rumoured 'Google Home Display' that has not shipped, so buying now is buying into an unreplaced product line
- − Sleep Sensing is explicitly a free preview that Google says it may fold into Fitbit Premium later
- − No camera means no video calling at all, and it will not act as an indoor camera
Google Nest Hub (2nd gen) review: what the specs say
Old hardware, no ads, no camera — and the cheapest Thread border router with a screen. At $99.99, Google's 2021 model sits among the cheapest we cover — the smart Displays we compare run from $79.99 to $399.99. It scores 6.9/10 overall, calculated from published specifications across 8 categories rather than from a subjective impression.
Its strongest showing is Privacy Hardware at 9.0/10 — physical camera shutters, hardware mic cut-offs and how much sensing runs by default. The weakest is Display Quality at 5.0/10, which is the trade-off to weigh before buying: if that is the specification you care about most, one of the alternatives below will serve you better.
Worth knowing before you buy: five-year-old hardware at its full 2021 launch price of $99.99; and google has stripped most of the on-device 'apps' since 2021 — Netflix, Podcasts, Meet, Reminders and more have gone. Every specification on this page comes from Google's own documentation or a verified retail listing — where a figure is not published, the table says so rather than estimating it.
Specifications and price last verified . Report an error
Full Specifications
| Voice Assistant | Gemini for Home (has replaced Google Assistant on this device); basic voice control needs no subscription |
| Screen Size | 7 in |
| Resolution | 1024 x 600 |
| Touchscreen | Yes |
| Camera | No camera — Soli radar handles presence and gestures instead |
| Physical Camera Shutter | No camera fitted; a hardware microphone switch on the back physically cuts the mics |
| Speakers | One full-range driver — Google publishes no driver size, only '50% more bass than the original Nest Hub, measured 40 Hz to 200 Hz at max volume' |
| Smart Home Hub Radios | Matter controller AND Thread 1.x border router — Google names only Nest Hub (2nd gen), Nest Hub Max and Nest Wifi Pro as its border routers |
| Subscriptions Required | No subscription for voice control; Google Home Premium ($10/mo Standard, $20/mo Advanced) is required for camera history and the sound-detection alerts Google advertises on this product page |
| Home-Screen Ads | No sponsored cards on the ambient screen — Google sells you a subscription instead of an ad slot |
| Video Calling | None — no camera. Audio calls and Broadcast only |
| Wall Mountable | Yes |
| Connectivity | Dual-band Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n/ac), Bluetooth, Thread border router, Matter |
| Material | Fabric-wrapped base with 54% recycled-plastic enclosure |
| Warranty | 12 months |
Compare Google Nest Hub (2nd gen) With
Cheaper Alternative
Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) — $89.99
Premium Alternative
Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) — $179.99