Nest Secure is now a smart speaker, might have had mic this whole time?
- The Nest Secure alarm system will receive a software upgrade which turns it into a pseudo-Google Home smart speaker.
- However, the functionality of this upgrade depends on the Nest Guard having a microphone, which the official specs sheet doesn’t disclose.
- Either the Nest Secure has always had a microphone we didn’t know about, or the system will listen for commands using another source.
Owners of the Nest Secure alarm system have been able to use voice commands to control their home security through Google Assistant for a while now. However, to issue those commands, they needed a separate Google Assistant-powered device, like a smartphone or a Google Home smart speaker.
The reason for this limitation has always seemed straightforward: according to the official tech specs, there’s no onboard microphone in the Nest Secure system.
However, Google just informed us that it is right now rolling out Assistant functionality to all Nest Secure devices via a software update. That’s right: if you currently own a Nest Secure, you will be able to use it as a Google Home very soon.
That means somewhere in the Nest Guard — the keypad base station of the Nest Secure — there might be a microphone we didn’t know existed. Either that or your voice commands are going to be heard by another product (like your phone, maybe) but Assistant’s output will now come from the Nest Guard, if you happen to be in the range of that device.
If the Nest Secure had a hidden mic this whole time, that’s likely going to cause some problems for Google, as security and privacy advocates will probably be pretty upset. We’ve reached out to Google and Nest for a statement on this matter.
Having the Nest Secure act as a pseudo-Google Home does make a lot of sense though, and the feature will likely be a welcome upgrade in the eyes of most people who already own the system. The ability to not only control the alarm system with your voice through the Guard but also control the rest of your smart home, get weather updates, turn on music, or perform any other smart speaker function is definitely helpful.
The rollout of the new feature begins today and will likely take a few days to complete.
NEXT: We ranked 50 failed Google products from best to worst
from Android Authority http://bit.ly/2BjHUCt
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