Google’s Nest Hub may be receiving an update for the first time since its debut in 2018. The company has registered a new “interactive device” with the Federal Communications Commission that will feature a screen, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Zigbee support. with what appears to be Google’s Soli radar gesture technology.
Together, it looks like Google has some sort of smart home device on the way; Like 9to5Google points out that the classification of “interactive device” is similar to that Google uses for its other smart devices, such as the original Nest Hub, Nest Hub Max, Nest Mini, Nest Wifi and Nest Audio.
The addition of Zigbee – a popular standard for smart home networking – would help integrate whatever the new device is even better into smart home configurations. And Soli technology has already appeared on Google’s smart home devices, like the entry-level Nest Thermostat launched last year, which uses the technology to detect when users are nearby.
According to the FCC filing, the unknown smart device is rated for the same broader 58-63.5 GHz frequency range as the Pixel 4, which, unlike Nest Thermostat, used Soli technology for its Motion gestures Sense. It’s easy to imagine Google using radar technology for motion gestures in a next generation version of its smaller Nest Hub, which lacks the integrated camera that the larger Nest Hub Max already uses for similar gestures.
Finally, Nest Hub is one of Google’s oldest smart home products (launched in October 2018). In fact, it predates the use of the Nest brand for Google’s smart home products – the device was first launched as Google Home Hub – so it’s probably in for an update.
Unfortunately, the FCC record does not reveal many other details for the mysterious product. But if Google is already working on the regulatory record, we may not have to wait long.