Google is working on a successor to the excellent Nest Hello doorbell, which it recently rebranded the Nest Doorbell (wired). The new Nest Doorbell will support 24/7 recording, will work with the Google Home app (not the Nest app), and should launch in 2022.
Rishi Chandra, GM of Google Nest, shared the news in a blog post on the Google Nest Community forum today. “We commit to being more transparent with you on where we are taking the camera portfolio,” writes Chandra. “We know that those with wired doorbell connections prefer to have a doorbell that can also support 24/7 continuous video history (via the Nest Aware subscription). We are excited to share that we will be launching a 2nd generation of Nest Doorbell (wired) in 2022.”
There were no further details shared on the new doorbell camera, so we don’t know if it will be smaller than the new, very large Nest Doorbell (battery). Although it’s likely it will be as it won’t have to pack in a hulking great battery.
We also don’t know if it will have offline storage and battery backup in case of power outage, a feature on Google’s newest battery-powered Nest cameras and doorbells. The current Nest Doorbell (wired) also has a few features the Nest Doorbell (battery) doesn’t, including Alexa and SmartThings integration, a wider field of view, a bigger zoom, and a 2K color sensor. Plus, you get alerts for sounds (people talking, dog barking) with a subscription to Nest Aware.
While Google has already said sound alerts should be coming to its new cameras, my guess is that some of these higher-end hardware specs won’t make it to the second generation Nest Doorbell (wired). To date, Google’s own version of original Nest products tend to take out the bits that made them the best in class in pursuit of a lower price point. Case in point, the new Nest Thermostat ditches the lovely tactile dial of the original version, for almost half the price.
Chandra also shared details on the merging of the Nest app with the Google Home app. The whole post was essentially an apology to users for having to use the Google Home app to manage the new cameras, when they were used to the seamless experience of the excellent Nest app with their older Nest devices. “We are committed to bringing the experiences and Nest devices you have come to love in the Nest app into the Home app,” he writes. “This will take time to get right.”
He did share that the ability to flip between events quickly and easily in the Google Home app will be coming soon. Currently, you have to scroll through hours of nothingness if your events are far apart. There will also be the option of just playing a glimpse of the events versus playing them back fully.
He also confirmed that a desktop option for the Google Home app is coming in 2022, where users can view and control their new Nest cameras and doorbell feeds — but notably he didn’t mention the old ones, which include the first-generation Nest Cams and Nest Cam IQs. With the demise of the Nest Hello (sorry, Nest Doorbell (wired) first gen) the only legacy product that works exclusively in the Nest app is the Nest Protect Smoke alarm. Once that one moves over, it’s probably closing time for the Nest app.
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