Google Smart Displays Gets 10 New Updates as Nest Discontinued: Dark Mode, Sunrise Alarm, and MORE!

Google recently revealed the 10 new features that Smart Displays will have, including those that will be added soon to further entice its users who mostly study or work from home.

As pandemic forced more people to stay home to work and study, the recent and upcoming updates on Smart Displays will turn the device into a connectivity and visual entertainment hub.

10 New Google Smart Display Features

Google announced these new updates in blog post on October 19. Check them out below:

• Home control - Allows users to control connected devices across the house, including the turning on and off the lights.
• Your morning - Reminds users of what to expect throughout the day. Later in the day, the page would reflect "Your afternoon" and "Your evening" with suggestions based on the time of the day.
• Communicate - Stay in touch at work or with family and friends via Google Meet and Duo while Zoom will also be added on the services enabled in Smart Displays before the end of 2020.
• Media - Suggest TV shows or podcast videos to keep everyone entertained. It also includes Netflix, Disney+, Spotify, and YouTube TV platforms.
• Dark theme - Change the interface's color scheme and reduce light emission to make it easier for the eyes at night. Users can also opt to set the light to "Automatic'' to make the display adjust naturally depending on the ambient light or the time of the day.

• Discover - Scroll to this page to find more of the smart display features.
• Integrate all accounts in one place - Set up personal or work accounts on Google Assistant devices in which users can interact and check all upcoming meetings and events in one location.
• Always stay within frame. Customize how the Smart Display shows Google Meet to make it easier to see a person as well as the presentation in the display. New features including four-person grids, pinning as well as the pinch and zoom will come soon as well.
• Sunrise Alarm - This mimics the sunrise, which allows users to wake up naturally. This feature will soon come to Smart Displays as the screen's brightness will gradually increase 30 minutes before the alarm goes off.
• Choose relaxing sounds - This will suit best the "Your evening" page. Users can select from various relaxing sounds to help them get a more pleasant sleep. How about the sounds of crickets? Well, there is a wide range of options to choose from, or users can just ask Google to pick for them.

Google Nest Secure discontinued

Google had its Nest Secure on the chopping board as it announced it will no longer be producing its $400 home security system until the end of 2020. However, Google Nest will still continue to support their existing security users, according to a statement sent to The Verge by a Google spokesperson.

The Nest Secure was launched in 2017, and its 3-year journey was quite short. Primarily, Nest Secure was easy to install that any user can set it up alone. It is also just the size of a smart speaker with two door sensors, key fobs and a keypad on which users could enter their predetermined code to lock or unlock the system.

However, its motion sensor could only detect within a 10-foot radius, which is useless for those who own a large house. Also, the Nest Secure faced privacy issues, which could have been resolved when Google integrated it with Google Assistant in 2019. However, users were unaware the alarm system's hub had microphone that is always switched on.

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Written by CJ Robles