Google confirmed Nest Hub Max has a release date: Sept. 9
Google has confirmed that its souped-up smart display will hit store shelves in September.
First announced in May at Google I/O and promised for this summer, the Google Nest Hub Max now has an official release date. The smart display with a 10-inch touchscreen, gesture controls and a built-in Nest Cam will hit shelves on Sept. 9.
The date was spotted on Tuesday by Droid Life and 9-to-5 Google in the Google Store listing for the product. Since then, the date has been removed, but a Google representative confirmed to CNET on Wednesday that it's real.
The Google Nest Hub Max is the first product to debut under the new combined Google Nest brand. I'm a big fan of the smaller Google Nest Hub (formerly the Google Home Hub ). It responds to voice commands like a smart speaker, and it uses its small 7-inch touchscreen well. You can look at pictures, watch videos, check the weather, glance at the steps of a recipe and more.
The Nest Hub Max will do all of that, plus it will have a bigger screen and more powerful speakers. It'll have a built-in Nest Cam so it can watch for motion while you're away. The cam will also be able to recognize your face and show a customized home screen. You'll even be able to control the Hub Max with gestures -- if you hold up your hand, you can play and pause music.
The Hub Max will cost $229 (£219, AU$349), a competitive price that matches the second-generation Amazon Echo Show . The compelling mix of features could make it the best smart display yet if it lives up to its potential, and now we know when we'll find out.
