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Our 14 favorite gadgets and hacks for working at home

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It’s been nearly a year since many of us started working from home due to the pandemic, and if you haven’t yet adjusted your workspace to accommodate your needs, then it’s probably time to get to it. Whether you’ve set yourself up in the guest bedroom, on your living room couch, or in a walk-in closet, you may need a little extra to make it possible to type comfortably, meet online, or just concentrate. Sometimes it means buying a new desk, lamp, or monitor; sometimes it just means finding a household item that will make life a little easier.

We asked the staff of The Verge what they’ve been using to make their work-at-home situations more practical, more pleasant, or simply more possible. Here are some of the answers we got.

Tech products

Apple AirPods Pro

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

I basically live in my AirPods Pro during the day. They let me listen to music, catch Slack pings, and take calls, all with the added benefit of some noise cancellation to help drown out outside noise. Their range is also great for my apartment — I can be anywhere in the house without losing connection to my computer, which is really nice if I need to step away from my desk to, say, microwave my second cookie of the afternoon. —Jay Peters

Apple AirPods Pro

Phone as webcam

Turning my phone into a fully functional webcam was surprisingly easy and cost-effective. I already had a Nexus 6P sitting around, and with these steps that work on most Android and iOS devices, I now have a phone-meets-webcam. It’s got video quality that’s roughly on par with a standalone webcam that would probably cost $200 right now. What makes it even better is that my iOttie car mount connects perfectly to my glass desk, so I don’t have to awkwardly arrange the phone to get a good angle on my face. —Cameron Faulkner

Satechi Aluminum Multi-Port Adapter V2

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

While I’m working off a MacBook, this Satechi hub has been a lifesaver for plugging in podcasting mics and any other gear I’m suddenly using on my own. —Adi Robertson

Satechi Aluminum Multi-Port Adapter V2

Rechargeable batteries

I go through tons of batteries with my flash when photographing at home and I find that these rechargeable batteries last so much longer than regular single-use batteries. Not only do they save me trips to the store and keep more batteries out of the landfills, but they also save me money in the end. —Amelia Holowaty Krales

Panasonic AA NiMH 2,550mAh rechargeable batteries

CalDigit TS3 Plus Thunderbolt 3 dock

Photo: CalDigit

This Thunderbolt 3 dock lets me switch my whole desk setup (keyboard, mouse, speakers, Ethernet, display, external storage drives, and microphone) from one computer to another by just moving one cable. I plug all of my peripherals into the dock, and then just use the one Thunderbolt cable to hook up my Mac or whatever Windows machine I need to test at the moment. It also has a very useful high-speed SD card slot on the front, which is great for whenever I need to dump images from my camera onto my computer. —Dan Seifert

CalDigit TS3 Plus Thunderbolt 3 dock

Google Nest Wifi Router

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Last year, I installed a Google Nest Wifi router with a mesh point. I’ve had a lot of networking equipment over the years, and this was immediately the best. And it was extremely easy to set up. —TC Sottek

Google Nest Wifi router

Ultrawide monitor

Photo: LG

An ultrawide monitor is the best purchase I ever made for working from home. It’s so big I have to physically lean from side to side to see it all. I can have three full-size windows up at the same time or countless windows overlapping. (Right now, I have nine different windows open and it doesn’t feel cramped at all.) Mine is an old LG 34UM94-P that they don’t make anymore — it looks like there is an updated version, the LG 34BL850-W. However, any monitor that is at least 34 inches in size with 1440p or better resolution is what I recommend. —Dan Seifert

LG 34BL850-W 34-inch QHD monitor

Home office helpers

Fully Jarvis Bamboo Standing Desk

Photo: Jarvis

We heard from three staffers about this desk:

The Jarvis from Fully was recommended to me by my colleague Christian Mazza, and it’s been far and away my best work-from-home purchase in years. It’s rather pricey by desk standards, but cheap by standing desk standards.

Assembly was far less cumbersome than I thought it would be. Just having the option to sit or stand, when you’re cooped up in your room or home office all day, makes a big difference. Plus it looks great and has some nice customization options for color and desk material. —Nick Statt

I love my Jarvis desk for all of the same reasons Nick does. If you’re considering one, I highly recommend spending the extra $20 for the extended-range height, which lets the desk get lower for sitting and higher for standing, and the extra $35 for the programmable height switcher, which lets you preset heights that you can switch back and forth to just by pressing a button.

I also sprung for the $29 casters so that I could wheel the desk around my apartment, which lets my wife and I use it as a mobile entertainment system. When we’re done working for the day, we can roll the desk over to our comfy chairs and watch Netflix or play Animal Crossing on the desk’s monitor. —Jay Peters

I have the Jarvis, too, just in a larger size. It has served me well for about four years now. It’s a comfortable, stable, spacious desk that has more versatility than typical desk options. —Dan Seifert

LapGear Designer Lap Desk

Photo courtesy LapGear

I should work at a desk more, but I spend a lot of time working from a couch. It’s bad for me, but also very comfortable. Using a lap desk like this one helps me at least pretend to be a little more conscientious about my posture; plus, it’s helpful for writing on physical paper (or when my laptop gets too hot). —Chaim Gartenberg

LapGear Designer Lap Desk

Huanuo monitor mount stand

Photo: Huanuo

This monitor mount brings my screen up to a nice height so that I don’t hunch over, and it’s the tallest one I’ve found. Other monitor arms I tried just weren’t tall enough for me when I was standing while working — and I’m not that tall at five feet, 11 inches. The mount also lets me adjust my monitor to exactly the right height for movies or Animal Crossing when I’m using my desk as a mobile entertainment center. —Jay Peters

Huanuo monitor mount stand

Nespresso Inissia Espresso Machine

Photo: De’Longhi

I’m hopelessly addicted to iced lattes and I finally invested in this espresso machine with my stimulus check. It makes waking up in the morning a little more exciting when I don’t have to French press my coffee. And it came with a milk frother! —Makena Kelly

Ello Devon Glass Tumbler

Photo: Ello Products

I never drink enough water. I just seem to forget to and I get headaches from dehydration, but something about this bottle helps remind me. Maybe it’s the design? I love it! —Amelia Holowaty Krales

Ello Devon Glass Tumbler

Herman Miller Sayl Chair

The Herman Miller Sayl is a common chair — Vox Media’s NYC office has hundreds of them. I bought one without arms, though, because it works a little better for my posture. I’m tall, and it’s hard to find chairs that don’t encourage me to slouch. Also, I like the red. —Sam Byford

Herman Miller Sayl Chair

Notebook and pen

While all of my work and most of my writing happen on my computer, sometimes it’s easier (especially for sudden phone calls or when I don’t want to switch out of a video) to simply turn to the notebook I keep next to my laptop and jot down a note or two. And I’ve found that using a classy pen is not only good for my morale, but makes it a lot less likely that I’ll find myself out of ink (or with a hand cramp) when I need to get something important written quickly. Currently, I’m using a True Writer ballpoint pen from Levenger that I got as a birthday present, but any pen that makes you feel good will do. —Barbara Krasnoff

Update February 4th, 2021, 2:37PM ET: This article was originally published on April 28th, 2020, and has been updated to include changes in prices and circumstances.

Spotify Connect: what is it? How can you get it?

(Image credit: Spotify)

With over 300 million active users worldwide (almost half of which are paying subscribers), Spotify is the world’s largest and most popular music streaming service. But thanks to Spotify Connect – arguably the streaming world’s most important feature – you’re no longer restricted to listening to the catalogue solely through your phone or desktop.

The feature allows you to play the catalogue over wi-fi to any compatible audio product (more on that later) you have in your home – and with just two presses of a button! It’s so simple and convenient that streaming service rival Tidal has now launched its own Tidal Connect feature.

Spotify Connect is a godsend for house parties – so long as you trust your friends with the controls! – but it’s really for anyone who wants to easily access Spotify’s 60-million-song-catalogue and curated playlists on hi-fi and AV kit and smart speakers without the hassle of Bluetooth pairing.

So how does it work? How do you set it up? And what are the perks of Spotify Connect?

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What is Spotify Connect?

As we touched upon above, Spotify Connect is a way of playing Spotify through your wireless speaker, soundbar, AV receiver, voice-control smart speaker, or any other compatible device, over wi-fi. That means you can play your favourite tunes anywhere in the house, all without the need for any convoluted Bluetooth pairing between devices every time you want to listen to music. Just note that it’s a Spotify Premium feature, so you won’t be able to benefit from it if you’re a user of Spotify’s free, ad-supported tier.

Best of all, Spotify Connect doesn’t use your smartphone (or tablet or desktop) app to stream music. It plays music directly from its servers to the device, leaving your smartphone free for making calls and all other uses. You only have to use your phone to identify the speaker in the first place and then control music playback.

To ensure the best quality possible, Spotify Connect always streams in 320kbps, which is the highest bitrate Spotify currently offers.

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How does Spotify Connect work? What products support it?

Just like Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect works over wi-fi. It seeks out compatible devices that are connected to the same wi-fi network and links them together to wirelessly to stream music.

To use Spotify Connect, you’ll first need a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer with the Spotify app downloaded on to it. To use Spotify Connect with most devices you’ll also need a Spotify Premium subscription, although some (the PlayStation 4, for example) are happy to work with Spotify Free. Other perks of paying for the Spotify Premium subscription (£9.99, $9.99, AU$11.95 a month) include no ads and being able to pick songs on the mobile app rather than just shuffle.

And then you just need the right product. Chances are you might already have a speaker or amp that supports Spotify Connect: there are heaps of Spotify Connect-enabled products, including smart speakers, music streamers and other hi-fi streaming components, wireless speakers, smart TVs, wearables and car audio systems. You can find the full list of compatible kit here.

Spotify Connect really has become a must-have feature in the AV and particularly audio world, and these days you won’t see many streaming-enabled products without it. In fact, it’s become so ubiquitous it’s usually the first feature you’ll see on a streaming-capable product’s feature list.

Spotify Connect works on one device at a time, unless you’re using a multi-room system such as Sonos, where you can select a group (two rooms or more, set up via Sonos’s app) to stream music to.

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How to set up Spotify Connect

Spotify Connect is simple to use. Download the latest version of the Spotify app to your control device – a smartphone, tablet or computer, say – and make sure both it and your chosen product(s) are connected to the same wi-fi network.

On your smartphone, launch Spotify, log into your subscription account, and select a song to start playing. Click the ‘Now Playing’ bar, then the device logo at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. This will show which of your connected products can play from Spotify. Select a device (the text will go from white to green) and music will start playing on that device. Magic!

If you’re using Spotify Connect to listen to a song on another smartphone or tablet, make sure both devices are logged in to the same Spotify account and simply follow the steps above.

On the desktop app, click the ‘Connect to a device’ button in the bottom-right corner. This brings up the devices menu. Select the one you’d like to use, and it’ll do the rest.

Spotify claims using Connect lets you switch between multiple products “without skipping a beat”. In reality, there’s always a tiny bit of delay when you swap products, but it’s much quicker than having to pair to Bluetooth every time.

Once you’re all set, your smartphone or computer becomes the remote control: select a song or playlist, pause, skip or shuffle through Spotify’s vast catalogue.

Another big advantage of using Spotify Connect (especially on a product that supports it natively), is when you fire up the app or switch between products, it will always adjust the volume automatically for the chosen audio product. Pretty neat.

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How do you use your smartphone while using Spotify Connect?

You can use it normally without worrying that whatever you’re doing – sending a text, playing a game, watching a YouTube clip – will interrupt the music.

All songs are streamed directly from Spotify’s cloud servers to your Spotify Connect product; your phone acts purely as a controller.

First of all, this means playing Spotify won’t sap your smartphone’s battery – a fine reason to invest in a Premium account. Since you’re only using your smartphone or tablet to control playback, it goes a long way in prolonging the battery life.

Secondly, it means you can wish your mum happy birthday or make that pizza delivery call without having to pause and interrupt your carefully curated playlist.

You can also switch between devices seamlessly. Were you listening to Spotify through your headphones on your way home? Once you’ve walked through the door, simply select your Spotify Connect-compatible stereo system in the app and the song will carry on playing through your speakers without having to pause or restart it. If it’s non-stop music you want, you’ve got it.

Listen to the What Hi-Fi? playlist

Does Spotify Connect work with voice control?

If you use a smart speaker, such as the Amazon Echo, Sonos One or Google Nest Audio, you can use voice commands to play music from Spotify on them.

Add your Spotify account to the list of music streaming services (this can be done in the Alexa or Google Home apps) and make sure you select Spotify as your default music player so you don’t have to specify which service to use at every turn. Then simply say “Alexa, play the new Taylor Swift album” or “OK Google, play the John Wick soundtrack” and your smart speaker will comply.

We can’t see the Apple HomePod and HomePod Mini with Siri voice control supporting Spotify Connect anytime soon, although you can play Spotify through those Apple speakers via AirPlay.

But you might not need to rely on other brands and services to get voice controlled Spotify music: there are reports that Spotify is testing its own in-app “Hey Spotify” voice assistant.

We hope that if and when it does happen, Spotify finally unveils that lossless Hi-Fi tier – we’ve had our fingers crossed for over three years now.

MORE:

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Security nightmare: Many networked doorbells let hackers into the house

The IT security of “intelligent” doorbells equipped with video cameras, which can be bought for comparatively little money on online marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay or Wish, is not well ordered. This was the result of a test by the IT security company NCC Group for the British online magazine “Which?” surrender. The identified weaknesses therefore range from logon information that is firmly encoded in the hardware, to authentication problems, to data transfer to China. In some cases, the devices are delivered without the latest security updates being installed and long-standing critical errors have been corrected The researchers should find out what smart bells are good for, which cost significantly less than the market leaders from Amazon Ring or Google Nest and mostly come from China. They examined models from Victure, Qihoo and Accfly as well as unbranded products with titles like “HD Wi-Fi Video Doorbell V5”, “Smart WiFi Doorbell (YinXn)” or “Smart Wifi Doorbell – XF-IP 007 H “.

Overall, the experts give the devices a bad rating, which is a” nightmare “in the area of the Internet of Things. The security problems beyond aggressive data collection are massive. In addition, some of the video bells turned out to be “clones” of the Victure model, which not only took over its flaws, but also made them worse. The original contained an undocumented HTTP service on port 80. This required login data which could easily be extracted by one of the “Copy Cats”. Unencrypted WLAN IDs and passwords were found in log files.

The smartphone apps for controlling the digital bells also rely on unencrypted communication, which makes life easy for hackers. “HTTPS was not enforced on a number of devices or did not even exist as a communication method for a number of mobile applications,” the analysis said. For example, the Victure mobile application requested a root certificate via an HTTP request. Sensitive information, user names and passwords could be recorded with simple test instruments.

So many attack possibilities We encountered the Qihoo device the auditors on an undocumented, fully functional DNS service. In principle, this could simply be misused as a channel for the spread of malware. Current indications of such an active “rabbit hole” were not detectable.

Another possible attack vector was the misuse of QR codes. According to the report, a hacker who has access to a user’s cloud-based camera backup could also get their hands on the device’s QR code. The attacker could decrypt it and read the WLAN data with a password.

According to the researchers, the bell hardware is often not securely attached. It was then easy to remove and manipulate. The devices would usually sit loosely in a screwed or glued-on bracket. They could be stolen within a few seconds. Only one of the camera systems had a pressure sensor, which triggered an alarm if tampered with. This can also be prevented by a 2.4 GHz jammer.

No good words Help me the hardware is an attacker in a position to access the videos recorded by the bell and stored on an SD card, the experts say. For example, he could research the typical behavior of residents. In addition, the firmware can be extracted in order to obtain the access data to a network again or to identify further weak points.

The researchers found that one of the devices was still used for “key reinstallation attacks” (Krack ) was prone. This WLAN gap should actually be sealed since 2019. It enables attackers to read encrypted data traffic in plain text, to steal information and – depending on the network configuration – to smuggle in malicious code. Accfly and Victure, the only ones to publish contact information, did not respond to inquiries from Which. US civil rights activists had previously criticized the fact that ring apps are also big data throws.

(mho)

Google Home vs Nest Audio vs Mini vs Max vs Hub vs Hub Max: Which Google speaker should you buy?

(Pocket-lint) – If you’re looking for an intelligent smart home speaker, then one powered by Google is a great alternative to the Amazon Echo range.

Like the Amazon Echo smart speakers, Google Home devices – most of which are now Nest branded – are available in a range of sizes. They all have Google Assistant built-in – meaning they can carry out the same tasks – but they have very different designs and specifications which will determine where you put them around your home and what you use them for.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Google Home and Nest devices to help you work out which is right for you.

Which is the best Google Nest speaker for you?

The Nest Mini – which replaces the original Google Home Mini – is small and cheap enough to go into any home. It has the same features of Google Assistant as its larger siblings, but in a much more manageable size.

The Nest Audio is the latest speaker in the family, a great performer at a great price and a replacement for the original Google Home.

The Google Home is the original speaker, but has now been replaced and bettered by the Nest Audio.

The Google Home Max is a powerful speaker, which when combined with Google Assistant could make it the only one you need in your home for entertainment.

The Google Nest Hub is a great choice for those with compatible smart home devices, offering excellent control, whilst also delivering a good enough sound and all the features that come with Google Assistant.

The Google Nest Hub Max adds a larger display and a camera, making it a full Nest device, as well as a smart display. It too offers all the features that come with Google Assistant, as well as bigger sound compared to the Nest Hub.

Pocket-lint

Google Nest Mini

squirrel_widget_168546

Dimensions: 42 x 98mm, 181g
Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), Bluetooth 5.0, Chromecast and Chromecast Audio
Audio: 40mm speaker driver, 360-degree sound
Audio formats: HE-AAC, LC-AAC+, MP3, FLAC, WAV, Vorbis
Google Assistant: Yes (Always-on/always-listening/voice-activated)

The Google Nest Mini is the second generation of the Google Home Mini, and it remains the smallest of Google’s smart home speaker range. Like the Amazon Echo Dot, it’s a small puck-like device that is available in four colours – all of which have fabric covers that aren’t interchangeable. The fabric is made from recycled bottles in the Nest Mini though, making it more sustainable than the original Google Home Mini.

Thanks to its diminutive size, the Nest Mini can be placed virtually anywhere, including wall-mounted thanks to its built-in wall-mount, and even kept out of sight if you wish. It can load up content on any Chromecast device, giving you voice-controlled access to movies and TV shows from supported services.

The Nest Mini gives you access to all those Assistant-powered features, so it’s a smart home control device, it’s an entertainer and a plaything, it’s a quiz master, a reference tool and so much more. It’s everything the big Google Home is without the larger speaker.

The Google Nest Mini is compatible with numerous smart home devices, the list of which is constantly growing. It also works with Spotify, Google Play Music, as well as a multitude of other audio services.

Google Nest Mini review: Mini update, max impact

Pocket-lint

Google Nest Audio

squirrel_widget_2709293

Dimensions: 175 x 124 x 78mm, 1.1kg
Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), Bluetooth 5.0, Chromecast and Chromecast Audio
Audio: 75mm woofer, 19mm tweeter
Audio formats: HE-AAC, LC-AAC+, MP3, FLAC, WAV, Vorbis
Google Assistant: Yes (Always-on/always-listening/voice-activated)

Nest Audio refreshes Google’s standard speaker, boosting eco credentials with more recycled material, while bringing in a fresh new design too.

Rather than 360-degree sound, the sound is now directional, but with a good size of speaker driver and a tweeter in this compact unit, the sound quality is really good for the price.

All the same Google Assistant functions are supported, and the Nest Audio can be stereo paired to make a bigger sound delivery.

One thing is clear – there’s no reason to consider the Google Home – the Nest Audio is better in every way.

Google Nest Audio review: A great all-rounder

Pocket-lint

Google Home

squirrel_widget_148299

Dimensions: 142.8 x 96.4mm, 477g
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz/5Ghz)
Audio: 2-inch speaker driver, dual 2-inch passive radiators, dual microphones with far-field voice recognition
Audio formats: HE-AAC, LC-AAC+, MP3, WAV, FLAC, Vorbis
Google Assistant: Yes (Always-on/always-listening/voice-activated)

The Google Home is the regular-sized smart speaker from Google. It’s the original member and the one that will likely be most popular because of the way it blends style and function. It’s pricier than the Google Nest Mini, but delivers way more punch.

The Google Home sports a design that’s reminiscent of an air freshener, with a slightly bulbous bottom that tapers in towards the top. On the angled top of the Home there is a touch-sensitive surface that can be used to control a variety of functions. You can also change the colour of the base to suit your style.

Its sound quality is good, but it probably isn’t fit to be your main party speaker, even if it is a step-up from the Nest Mini. It offers all the connected functions of Google Assistant, so it’s a natural smart home hub, letting you control all your devices, as well as accessing a wide range of Google services, information and giving you control of your Chromecast.

The Google Home has all the same smarts as the Google Nest Mini, only with more power under the hood. You can also purchase different bases to change the style of your Google Home speaker, too, which you can’t do on the Mini.

Google Home review: A better voice assistant than Amazon Echo?

Google

Google Home Max

squirrel_widget_148519

Dimensions: 336.6 x 190 x 154.4mm, 5.3kg
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz/5Ghz), Bluetooth 4.2, Chromecast and Chromecast Audio, USB-C, 3.5mm auxiliary
Audio: 2 x 4.5-inch dual voice coil woofers, 2 x 0.7-inch tweeters, six microphones with far-field voice recognition
Audio formats: HE-AAC, LC-AAC+, MP3, WAV, FLAC, Vorbis, Opus
Processor: 1.5GHz Quad-core ARM
Google Assistant: Yes (Always-on/always-listening/voice-activated)

Google Home Max is max by name and max by nature. It’s large in size and it delivers high-quality sound that can fill a room. A large price tag puts the Google Home Max in the premium smart home speaker bracket – competing with the Sonos range and the Apple HomePod.

Packing four drivers and six Class-D amplifiers, the Google Home Max makes the sound performance of most other smart home speakers pale in comparison. We certainly found it to be capable in terms of sound, but many may recoil at the price tag.

It’s on the large size too, as far as wireless speakers go, so finding a home for the Home Max could be tricky.

We imagine most people will put one in their living room or bedroom. It’s not for wall-mounting but can be positioned either vertically or horizontally making it pretty versatile. It offers all the same features as the smaller Nest Mini and Home though, just with better sound capabilities.

Google Home Max review: Cranking smart speaker audio to the max

Pocket-lint

Google Nest Hub

squirrel_widget_148304

Dimensions: 178 x 118 x 67.3mm, 480g
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz/5Ghz), Bluetooth 5.0, Chromecast and Chromecast Audio, 15 W adapter, DC power jack
Audio: Full range speaker, two microphones with far-field voice recognition
Display: 7-inch
Processor: 1.5GHz Quad-core ARM
Google Assistant: Yes (Always-on/always-listening/voice-activated)

Google Nest Hub (formerly Home Hub) is a speaker like the other Home devices but it adds a 7-inch touchscreen to its list of attributes – yes, it’s a smart display. The sound quality isn’t as good as the Max or the original Home but the display is an excellent feature for watching quick YouTube videos, reading news snippets and controlling smart home devices.

It offers all the same features as the other Home products, along with a great design, YouTube integration (which Amazon’s Echo Show does not) and it is fantastic for smart home control, with the list of compatible devices growing constantly.

There’s no camera as there is on the larger Nest Hub Max but it makes for a great smart home hub.

Google Nest Hub review: The new hub of your smart home?

Pocket-lint

Google Nest Hub Max

squirrel_widget_160596

Dimensions: 250.1 x 182.55 x 101.23mm, 1.32kg
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), Bluetooth 5.0, Chromecast and Chromecast Audio, 30W adapter, DC power jack
Audio: Stereo speakers (2x 18mm 10W tweeters, 1x 75mm 30W woofer), far-field mic and voice match technology
Display: 10-inch, 1280 x 800 pixels
Camera: 6.5MP Nest camera, 127 FoV, face match technology
Google Assistant: Yes (Always-on/always-listening/voice-activated)

The Google Nest Hub Max is the biggest Home device with a display and ushered in the name change to Nest. That’s because it incorporates a camera which can not only be used for Duo calling, but offers full Nest Cam functions too, so it also acts as a security device. It will also work with Nest’s face recognition, so it can change the display details to suit different users, though it doesn’t deliver familiar face alerts like the Nest Hello or Nest Cam IQ.

Elsewhere, the Nest Hub Max boosts the experience of the smaller display device, expanding to 10-inches and offering stereo speakers backed with a woofer for better sound delivery.

Otherwise the Nest Hub Max supports Google Assistant offering all the experiences you’d come to expect from Google’s AI system.

Google Nest Hub Max review: Putting the Echo Show on notice

Writing by Adrian Willings. Editing by Britta O’Boyle.

heise + | Short tests: SD memory cards, smart speakers and corrective lenses for VR headsets

Short tests: SD memory cards, smart speakers and corrective lenses for VR headsets SD cards: Samsung Evo Plus / Pro Plus Smart Speaker: Google Nest Audio Corrective lenses for VR headsets: VR optician Samsung is launching a new range of SD memory cards: Evo Plus and Pro Plus, each with 32, 64, 128 and 256 GByte storage capacity available.

The successor to the smart speaker Google Home is hardly recognizable: Under the woven fabric of the Nest Home, powerful Better hardware and better sound.

People with ametropia often wear glasses under VR headsets. During long sessions, however, the pressure of the temples on the head or the wobbling of the glasses when the head moves quickly is bothersome. Virtual worlds can be explored more comfortably with corrective lens inserts.

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Zoom calls are beginning to arrive on the Google Nest Hub Max

Google is starting to roll out Zoom support for the Nest Hub Max smart display as an early preview for users in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, the company announced today.

People who are using a Google or Nest Wi-Fi system may see some improvements to video calls, Google also announced. It’s updating the devices to automatically be able to detect and prioritize video call traffic for Google Meet and Zoom, which may help if your video calls have been a little choppy.

As the holidays approach, it’s the perfect time for this update, as more and more people are going to be making video calls to friends and family. Zoom has been an especially popular service this year as social distancing measures and shutdowns have forced people to celebrate together remotely. The Nest Hub Max is getting Zoom after Facebook added the service to its Portal devices back in September, but before Amazon rolls it out to its Echo Show devices.

This kind of smart display is popular with people who want the functionality of a smart speaker, but want to do more than the audio-only devices allow — and that includes video calls. Facebook offers their range of Portal devices with four sizes to choose from (ranging from 8 inches to literally your TV), but you’ll have to contend with their not so privacy-friendly reputation. The Nest Hub Max, at $229, is pricier, but just plain does more, which is reflected in our review score.

Amazon’s Echo Show also reviews well for its good display, sound, and Alexa support, but doesn’t yet have support for Zoom, and it’s not clear when that’ll be coming.

Even Google knows that these devices are best for flexing your culinary creations.

Image: Google

If you choose to pick up the Google device, or if you already have one, you can try out the Zoom feature by linking your Zoom and Google accounts. Once you do, you can control the feature with your voice, using commands like “Hey Google, join my next meeting” or “Hey Google, start a Zoom call.”

The hands-free commands will be useful, since these devices are popular in the kitchen, so you won’t have to get dough on the display to flex your awesome Christmas cookies thanks to a year of pandemic baking.

TIM: many news and services on Google '' smart '' devices. Here's what you can do

” TIM Smart Voice with Google ” is extended to the home landline and TIMMUSIC can now be listened to on Google’s smart speaker and display devices. Here are the news made available by TIM for its more tech users.

by Bruno Mucciarelli published 25 November 2020 , at 10: 01 in the Telephony channel

TIM Google Nest

TIM , having first integrated the mobile voice outbound service in Europe with the intelligence of Google Nest devices, extends the service ” TIM Smart Voice with Google ” with the new function which allows you to receive and make calls even from the home landline. But not only because to this is added the arrival on Google smart devices of TIMMUSIC, the platform dedicated to streaming music.

TIM and Google Nest: what changes from today?

Important news for users who enter the collaboration started with Google and TIM , thus expanding the portfolio with innovative products and services, especially for the smart home. ” TIM Smart Voice with Google ” will be totally free and exclusively for customers with a fiber connection. It will now allow you to make and receive calls through smart speakers and Google display , using the TIM landline number. Just associate the home line to the Google Nest Mini or Nest Hub and with a simple voice command make and receive calls to and from any landline or mobile number.

How to do? Simple. To initiate the call, simply say “ Hey Google, call mom ” or ” Hey Google, answer the call ”. Thanks to the Google assistant, you can make calls to punctual numbers, to contacts in your Gmail address book and to commercial activities using the Google search. ” TIM Voce Smart with Google ” represents the evolution of the traditional fixed-line call service with the intelligence of Google Nest devices without the need for a cordless phone. TIM consumer customers with fixed fiber lines will be able to use the service free of charge after configuring it from the Google Home App and associated with your line number.

And it doesn’t end there. Another novelty is the arrival of TIMMUSIC , TIM’s platform dedicated to streaming music.

From the smart speakers and displays of Google will be able to listen to your favorite songs with a simple voice command. We know that at the moment TIMMUSIC owns 40 millions of songs and all the new Italian recordings and international always updated with songs, albums, complete discographies, playlists. Now it will be within your reach by simply saying the desired title or artist name. To start listening it will be enough to say “ Hey Google, let me listen ?? ” combined with the name of the artist or album and create the right atmosphere or desired musical style.

For all TIM customers in possession of a Google device, access to the TIMMUSIC streaming service included is provided for three months with automatic expiration and at no additional cost. Just create the account through the Google Home App to enjoy your favorite music on the devices. All information available on TIM’s official website.

Google Nest Mini vs Home Mini: What’s the difference?

(Pocket-lint) – Google’s second generation of its smallest Google Assistant speaker comes in the form of the Nest Mini.

The Nest Mini replaces the Google Home Mini, and while it looks very similar, there are a few differences and a few upgrades. Here’s how the Nest Mini compares to the Home Mini and what the differences are.

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What’s the same between the Nest Mini and Home Mini?

Design
Features
Price

The Google Nest Mini and Home Mini share the same cute puck-like design and they offer the same dimensions too. They are both circular with a material covering and they both feature LED lights at the top, which light up when Google Assistant is activated.

The two devices also offer the same main features in that they both offer Google Assistant built-in, like the other Google Home devices and Nest Hub devices, allowing you play music, control smart home devices and ask Google pretty much any question you want an answer to, whether that be what the weather is like, what your calendar is like for that day or how old Einstein was when he died.

The price is also the same between the Home Mini and the Nest Mini with both costing $49/£49. You might find the Home Mini cheaper now however.

What’s different between the Nest Mini and Home Mini?

There would be little point in releasing a second generation model if there were no improvements, so unsurprisingly, the Nest Mini offers some upgrades to the Home Mini.

Design

Nest Mini: Built-in screw mount, more sustainable
Home Mini: Accessory required for wall-mounting

While the main design between the Google Home Mini and the Nest Mini is the same, the Nest Mini adds a screw mount on the rear, allowing the device to be wall hung.

This makes the Nest Mini much more flexible when it comes to placement, given the wall-hung option is built-in rather than requiring an additional accessory, like the Home Mini.

Additionally, the Nest Mini is more sustainable than the Home Mini, made from 35 per cent recycled plastic, while the fabric is made from recycled bottles.

Controls

Nest Mini: Tap volume controls, pause controls, physical microphone mute button
Home Mini: Tap volume controls, physical microphone mute button

The Google Home Mini has a physical microphone mute button and it’s also possible to control the volume with a tap on each side of the device.

The Nest Mini meanwhile, also has a physical microphone mute button, but the volume tap controls are now next to the LED lights on the top of the device and there’s an ultrasound detector built-in that lights up when your hand approaches, allowing you to tap to pause too.

Sound

Nest Mini: 40mm driver, 360-degree sound
Home Mini: 40mm driver

The Google Home Mini is a great little device for an entry point into Google Home, but it’s sound quality isn’t as good as the other devices in the range. Fine for background music and for answering your questions, but not necessarily a device you’d use to listen to music day-in-day-out.

The Nest Mini meanwhile, hopes to improve that with a new hardware platform and 40 per cent better bass response compared to the Home Mini.

Features and hardware

Nest Mini: Three microphones
Home Mini: Two microphones

Along with sound improvements, the Nest Mini adds a third microphone compared to the Home Mini. Google claims this will allow the second generation model to respond to voice better and faster than the original model.

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Conclusion

The Google Nest Mini retains the cute, compact design of the Home Mini that we know and love, but it makes it more sustainable, whilst adding the convenience of a built-in wall mount.

The second-gen device also improves the sound quality, adds more on-device control and adds an extra microphone for better voice response, whilst retaining the same price.

The Nest Mini is a no brainer over the Home Mini if you are choosing between the two. If you are considering an upgrade, you’ll get some good improvements over your Home Mini, but it’s probably worth considering the Nest Mini as an extra Google Assistant device in your home, rather than a replacement to the Home Mini as the Home Mini is still great.

Writing by Britta O’Boyle.

Best Google Assistant speakers 2020: Top Google Home alternatives

(Pocket-lint) – Google Assistant is an excellent voice assistant. It not only brings the power of Google search to the table, but it’s conversational too. Like Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Assistant can set alarms, read news briefings, tell you what the weather is like, control compatible smart home devices and play music, among plenty of other features.

Google offers its own Google Assistant-enabled speakers in the form of the Google Home and Nest devices, but there are plenty of Google Home alternatives too.

From Harmon Kardon and Sony to Panasonic and Sonos, here are the best Google Assistant speakers available right now.

Pocket-lint

Sonos One

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Sonos One is the smallest speaker available in the Sonos portfolio and it offers Google Assistant support in the US, UK and some other countries, allowing it to do pretty much everything the Google Home can. The Sonos One delivers superb sound quality, coupled with a great design and seamless multi-room audio with other Sonos speakers.

For those after an excellent smart speaker, the Sonos One is certainly one to consider. Unlike other smart speakers, Sonos offers support for both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, rather than just one or the other. You can’t have both running at the same time, but if you want to try out Google Assistant, whilst still having the option to go back to Alexa, the Sonos One is a perfect way to do that.

Sonos One review: Superb sound with added bonus of Alexa and Google Assistant

Pocket-lint

Google Nest Mini

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Google is really starting to up its game when it comes to first-party hardware. For a long time, Amazon’s Echo speakers put Alexa out in front as an assistant with good hardware support. The newest Nest Mini goes a long way to fight that assumption — it’s Google’s answer to the Echo Dot.

The good news is that it’s just as impressive as that puck speaker. In a tiny, classy package you get really impressive sound (given the size), and easy access to the Google Assistant with all its wisdom. It’s also one of, if not the cheapest entry point to getting Google Assistant in place around your home.

Google Nest Mini review: Mini update, max impact

Sonos

Sonos Move

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The Sonos One is a brilliant speaker, but it lacks one thing that Sonos has finally brought to the table with the Sonos Move — portability. This is the first ever hybrid speaker from Sonos, bringing the best of both worlds to the table. When it’s docked on its cradle in your home, the Move is an exemplary smart speaker very much in the mold of the Sonos One.

That means it’s got Google Assistant on board for your smart home control needs, and stunning sound. If you want, though, you can pick the speaker up and take it out and about for hours of playback through Bluetooth. You won’t be able to use the Assistant unless it’s on your home WiFi, of course, but that won’t slow you down much.

Sonos Move review: Finally, a portable Sonos with Bluetooth connectivity

Pocket-lint

Google Home

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Google’s very own smart speaker is obviously in many ways the purest version of a Google Assistant speaker you could find, but it’s also not the newest hardware by a long stretch, hence its slightly lower position on this list than you might expect.

The speaker is still a great option, though – it looks great and we’re fond of its two-tone look, too. Plus, the Assistant is as responsive as you could possibly hope.

Google Home review: A better voice assistant than Amazon Echo?

Pocket-lint

Panasonic GA10

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The Panasonic GA10 features a retro design, which might not be to everyone’s taste, but some will prefer it to Google Home’s air freshner-style look. The GA10 doesn’t offer calling functionality like Google Home but it delivers great sound quality, versatile audio input selection and it is just as smart as Google Home, meaning plenty of smart home integrations.

The GA10 is an excellent Google Home alternative for those after decent audio. It is as much a living room speaker as it is a smart assistant and while it it costs more than Google Home, it’s a lot cheaper than a Google Home Max and it delivers in the sound department.

Panasonic GA10 review: Google Home, but better

Pocket-lint

Google Nest Hub Max

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This may or may not suit the definition of a smart speaker, depending on your perspective — there is an obvious screen element to it. Nonetheless, the Nest Hub Max is a pretty all-encompassing device, and obviously includes Google Assistant as standard.

The smart display gives you a deeper degree of interaction with the Assistant, since it can surface visual information or photos to answer your requests. Beyond that, you get surprisingly impressive sound and a really useful smart home hub, all in one package. Plus, the Nest Hub Max’s camera (which the smaller Nest Hub doesn’t include) lets you make video calls with ease.

Google Nest Hub Max review: Putting the Echo Show on notice

Pocket-lint

Harman Kardon Citation Series

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Harman Kardon doesn’t just offer one Google Assistant-enabled speaker, the Samsung-owned company has an entire range. The Citation Series is comprised of the One, 100, 200, 300 and 500 speakers, with the One being the smallest and the 500 being the largest. There is a sound bar, sub, surround speakers and tower speakers in the series too though.

All the speakers in the Harman Kardon Citation Series have Google Assistant on board, except the sub and surround speakers.

Pocket-lint

Sonos Beam

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Like the Sonos One and Move further up this list, the Sonos Beam is both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant enabled. The Beam is significantly more expensive than the Google Home but it offers some serious sound for its compact size.

Aside from once again offering a choice of voice assistants, the Beam isn’t just a speaker. It has seamless multi-room audio like the Sonos One but the Beam also offers TV sound so you get a smart speaker and sound bar in one.

Sonos Beam review: Compact in size, not in sound

Writing by Britta O’Boyle. Editing by Max Freeman-Mills.

The best smart alarm clocks 2020: Wake up in style

(Pocket-lint) – No matter your walk of life or where you live, you probably have to wake up most mornings, And it’s most likely a challenge at least some of the time. In fact, waking up to work from home is one of the hardest parts of any given day.

Best Nespresso coffee machine: Get your pod-based fix every morning

Thankfully, tech has chipped in down the years to try to ease the burden on your body by making the morning reveille slightly less difficult. Smart alarm clocks are just one way that you can get a morning routine with a bit more complexity to it. We’ve rounded up some of the very best options available in this list.

However, if you want something a bit different, do also check out our list of the best wake-up lights available, for alarm systems that will gradually wake you up with light.

Our pick of the best alarm clocks to buy today

Pure

Pure Siesta Charge

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This is, quite simply, an awesome device to have in your home. As well as being an alarm clock, you can also put your Qi-compatible phone on top and it’ll charge up overnight.

As it’s from Pure, the Siesta Charge is a DAB+ and FM radio with three alarms (all with daily or single-use options) various radio presets, a Bluetooth speaker and there’s even a USB port on the back so you can charge other devices like your Apple Watch or some headphones. It’s available in graphite and polar (white).

Lenovo

Lenovo Smart Clock

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Lenovo cuts right to the top our list with a device that is custom-designed for your bedroom. It’s a little smart display with Google Assistant onboard, but also packs a range of clever touches making it great for your bedside table.

Its auto-brightness system sees it actually get properly dark at night, unlike some screens, while having access to all your smart home commands and Google Assistant is almost luxurious.

Lenovo Smart Clock review: Better than a classic or just overkill?

Pocket-lint

Amazon Echo Dot with Clock

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Amazon’s older Echo Dot smart speaker made the brilliant addition of an LED display to tell you the time (or display timers and other information), and in one fell swoop became a great choice for a smart alarm clock.

You get all the benefits of Amazon’s great little speaker, including the superb Alexa voice assistant, plus at-a-glance time-keeping. So long as you’re fine with Amazon having microphones by your bed, it’s a no-brainer.

Amazon Echo Dot with Clock review: Alexa, what’s the time?

Pocket-lint

Amazon Echo Show 5

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Amazon also has a different Echo device that could work for your bedside, though, although this one has a bit more a serious screen. The Echo Show 5 is Amazon’s smallest smart display, and we think it works nicely as an alarm clock.

Alexa is really good at routines and alarms, and the display can double up as a digital picture frame or whatever you’d like during the day.

Amazon Echo Show 5 review: Honey, I shrunk the screen

Anker

Anker Wakey

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Perhaps, though, you want a more traditional alarm clock experience, with just a hint of clever technology drizzled over it.

Anker’s here to oblige with the Wakey, a great wireless speaker that- like the Pure alarm clock above – also has a wireless charging point on top of it for your phone, and an LED display just like the Echo Dot with Clock’s to let you see the time whenever you want. We think it’s really quite a classy bit of kit.

Pocket-lint

Google Nest Hub

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Finally, Google’s smaller Nest Hub is another smart display that works really well beside your bed. With Google Assistant and a surprisingly good speaker on board, you can lull yourself to sleep then set custom wakeups to suit your routine.

The lack of camera is also an advantage versus the bigger Nest Hub Max for the bedroom.

Google Nest Hub review: The new hub of your smart home?

Writing by Max Freeman-Mills.

Boost your Wi-Fi network: The best mesh networking gear 2020 for faster speeds and wider range

(Pocket-lint) – There’s nothing like a Wi-Fi dropout to hit you off your stride. Whether you’re midway through a marathon on Netflix, or you work from home and can’t afford to lose connectivity with your office, there’s no good time for your network to have a wobble.

We’ve looked at routers that you might be able to replace your bog-standard one with elsewhere, as a way of getting some extra range and stability, but if you’re serious about making a home network that can expand to cover big areas, and doesn’t risk flakey connections depending on where you stand, you’ll probably want to invest in a mesh Wi-Fi system.

Best Wi-Fi 6 router: Future-proof your home network now

These systems effectively extend and strengthen your home Wi-Fi network, to make sure that it can reach even your most remote corners and provide even coverage throughout your home. Better yet, they’re no longer the preserve of IT experts and techies. There are now countless mesh Wi-Fi systems on the market which offer nearly plug-and-play simplicity so that you can reap their benefits without needing a degree in electronics.

With that in mind, we’ve rounded up the best of the best to create a list of options for you to explore, and choose between if you’re thinking of going down the mesh Wi-Fi route.

Our guide to the best mesh network setups to buy today

Pocket-lint

Google Nest Wifi

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It took Google a couple of iterations to perfect its mesh offering, but Nest Wifi is something special. It’s supremely easy to set up, and within a few taps on your phone, you’ll have a strengthened network that can be extended at will with extenders that also pack smart speaker capabilities and Google Assistant.

The system’s design is super clean and anonymous, letting them blend into the background in your home and provide silent benefits, and super parental controls make it perfect for parents. It’s not the absolute cheapest on the market by any means, but it’s still reasonably priced, and because it’s Google you can rely on solid software support for years to come. Sometimes the biggest names know what they’re doing, and Google has hit a home run here.

Google Nest Wifi review: Fantastic mesh network with Google Assistant bonus

BT Whole Home Mini

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While the standard Whole Home setup features 2600Mbps maximum throughput speeds, this lower-priced solution takes the speed down to 1,200Mbps.

This is still great if you’re not going to be streaming several high bandwidth things like console games services or 4K Ultra HD video at the same time in addition to connecting tens and tens of devices.

With mesh systems, coverage is really the name of the game and you can still cover almost as sizeable a home with the Mini discs as with the full-size discs.

These Mini discs come in dual or triple packs – the triple pack is our pick and all the discs have Ethernet for connecting wired devices to your network.

Netgear

Netgear Orbi RBK13 Whole Home WiFi System

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Netgear is one of the premier names in networking full stop and its mesh networking sub-brand – Orbi – pretty much guarantees a premium product. Here we’ve got a 1.2Gbps dual-band system consisting of a base and two satellites that you can easily add to. It helps that the boxes are also small. When testing it out we had one on top of a sideboard in the living room and it doesn’t seem out of place.

The app setup is really easy and enables you to manage access and you can easily create guest networks and apply a single SSID to your whole network.

The only negative is that the satellites don’t have Ethernet ports, so if you want to connect up devices like a TV that doesn’t have Wi-Fi or an older games console, you’ll need to look at a slightly different solution.

Devolo

Devolo Magic 2 Whole Home Kit

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Devolo’s traditional strength is in Powerline technology and so it has a twist on the mesh network idea – this gives you three powerline plugs, but two of the units are designed so that they create a 2,400Mbps mesh Wi-Fi network to augment the new-generation G.hn Powerline tech (the Magic 2 is twice the Wi-Fi speed of the Magic 1).

That means you can take the mesh network to further off areas of your house such as an attic room or annexe – perhaps where your office is located.

Essentially, it gives you a lot more options than just nodes. Each Powerline plug is passthrough, so you don’t lose a power outlet, while each also has dual Ethernet ports for ultimate connectivity of devices like set top boxes.

Amazon

Eero Mesh Wi-Fi System

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Eero is far from the new kid on the block, but in the last couple of years, its outlook has changed significantly after being bought out by Amazon. Now, after that merger, its first new generation of mesh extenders are as impressive as you’d hope, although they surprisingly don’t have Alexa built-in.

These diminutive little extenders are really affordably priced and have that Nest Wifi invisibility factor that will see them blend into the background of your home, quietly ensuring quick networking and easy connections. A great companion app to manage your settings lets you keep in control of everything, and that price means that Eero now offers a superb entry-point to home networking.

Linksys

Linksys Velop (Wi-Fi 6 version)

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While lower speed versions of Velop are available, this one is future-proofed to the nines as it is Wi-Fi 6 compatible.

It can support a maximum throughput speed of 5.3Gps, an almost bafflingly fast rate.

Wi-Fi 6 is the best solution for covering a large property and if you insist on having the fastest speeds technically possible then this is a great option.

Pocket-lint

Amplifi HD Ubiquiti

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Compared to the others on this list, Amplifi’s Ubiquiti system offers something a little different, both in how it looks and what that means for the user. A small LCD panel allows you to get some information about your network at a glance — or just works as a digital clock if you prefer.

Its extenders, which are also fairly unique in size and shape, also plug directly into your wall sockets, which could make them perfect or annoying to fit in, depending on the layout of your sockets and furniture. Once you’re using the system, though, it’s rock-solid, with range that is seriously impressive even under the strain of testing.

AmpliFi HD review: Mesh Wi-Fi made simple

Pocket-lint

Netgear Orbi Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System

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Let’s get the elephant out of the room first – this is an extremely expensive setup. You also only get a router and a satellite for that tremendous outlay. But the tri-band AX6000 series is a glimpse at what Wi-Fi 6 mesh networks will offer in the coming months and years. Of course, prices will tumble in future, but if you want the best now, here you are.

With cited speeds of 6Gbps, the AX6000 series can throughput well in excess of what most of us use across out networks, but it’s also about capacity – Netgear says this will cover up to 4,000 square feet and can be used by up to 60 devices simultaneously.

Coincidentally, there’s a AX4200 series available, too that promises speeds of up to 4.2Gbps. Both systems can have more satellites added, of course.

Writing by Max Freeman-Mills.

Harman Kardon Citation 200 review: It’ll make you move

(Pocket-lint) – Speakers have evolved a whole lot over the years, so why lock yourself to either a wired at-home one or a smaller battery-based portable? The Harman Kardon Citation 200 is the best of both worlds: a Sonos Move-rivalling speaker in terms of scale, sound and portability, but at a much more appealing asking price.

It ticks a lot of features boxes, too, by offering Wi-Fi, AirPlay and Bluetooth connectivity, so it’s super easy to connect whether you’re an Apple or Android phone user. There’s even built-in Google Assistant voice compatibility (Wi-Fi only though) which gives it appeal to those who might be looking at, say, a Google Nest Audio.

Because, if you want big sound that smaller smart speakers can’t offer then, well, the Citation 200 absolutely belts out the sound. If you want big, bassy sound in a great-looking design that’s also portable then it’s a stellar offering that should also see Sonos shaking in its boots (literally, given this speaker’s low-end impact).

Design

Portable design, charging cradle included (123d x 15mm)
Dimensions: 178 x 219 x 172mm / Weight: 2.85kg
Kvadrat fabric cover, leather handle
Colours: Grey, Black
IPX4 waterproofing

A key design feature of the Citation 200 is its smart leather handle – that’s the bit that says “hey, I’m a portable speaker”. With the grey Kvadrat fabric model, as reviewed here, that handle is an attractive brown colour, while the material covering the body gives a real dynamic texture.

Best Bluetooth speakers 2020: Top portable speakers to buy today

The Citation 200 is also available in black, but that also means the handle is black too and, frankly, we think it looks a lot more boring in that finish. It’s hardly as if picking grey is being bold anyway, eh?

As we said when we first saw the speaker back at its launch at CES 2020, we do wish the product name was a bit more blatant in telling you why you should buy one. “Citation 200” hardly yells that this is a portable at-home speaker, does it? There’s obviously a spectrum to this, though, with Bose going the whole hog with its Portable Home Speaker. But sometimes it helps to state what it does on the tin.

Anyway, now that you know the Citation 200 is indeed portable, you’ll be pleased to know it also comes with its own charging cradle, much like the Sonos Move. Ok, so the Harman Kardon one doesn’t look quite as smart – it’s an oversized grey puck really – but it’s very effective. When the speaker is docked it’s just a normal home speaker. Grab the handle to remove the speaker – without having to fuss with any cables, clips or anything else – and, bosh, job done, it’s now portable.

We did wonder how often we’d use this speaker as a portable. The answer: a lot. Because its sound is so massive we’ve been carting it from the back of the kitchen to by the cooker to drown out the extraction fans; from kitchen to the living room when having a weekend tipple; and even upstairs and into the bathroom when soaking in the tub on a chill-out Sunday.

You might gasp at that last one because why would any sane person get a speaker near to steam and condensation? Well, it doesn’t matter here: the Citation 200 is IPX4 waterproof, meaning it’s protected from splashes in any direction. Just don’t put it in the actual bath. It’s also not dust-resistant, so don’t take it to the beach either. It’s not that kind of portable, though, which you can probably tell from the look anyway.

Sound quality

Battery: 4,800mAh (up to 8 hours playback, 3 hours to charge)
Supports: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirPlay, Chromecast
Voice assistants: Google Assistant via app only
1x 25mm tweeter, 1x 120mm woofer
Frequency response: 40Hz-20kHz
Power: 50W

The Citation 200 boasts eight hours of battery life when it’s away from its dock, which is plenty of albums and streams when it’s being used around the house. Or in the garden. Or park. Or wherever it is you wish to use such a speaker. Popping it back onto the stand for a recharge is super easy, of course, although the 3 hour time-frame to get it topped back up to full is a bit slow if you ask us.

As for sound. Wow. The Citation 200 really packs a sonic punch. It’s easy to look at speakers’ specs and see various checkboxes ticked. As one example this Harman Kardon says it can cater for bass down to 40Hz. Sure, so can plenty of other speakers. But when we’ve been testing bass music tracks the sheer welly this speaker gives in the low-end department is stupendous. It’s like there’s a proper built-in subwoofer.

Now, we know, some people will find this degree of bass washing over everything to throw the balance of sound. That could be the case for certain tracks and genres, but we’ve not found it to be of concern or a problem really. All we’ll really say is that the Citation 200 doesn’t quite have that pinpoint precision when it comes to delivering mid-range snap and high-end sparkle to counter the low-end stuff.

Where you place the speaker is also of key importance. Although it looks almost cylindrical, it’s not a 360-degree output, it’s a forward wall of sound by design – because there are only two drivers inside, not the multiples you’ll find in some competitors. Not a problem, of course, just face it in the right direction and ensure it’s high enough – plonking it on a carpeted floor will see the bass take over as the mid-to-highs get adsorbed.

The Citation 200, with 50W of power, is also very loud indeed. You can fill big spaces with this fairly small speaker. All while looking better than, say, the Ultimate Ears Hyperboom, which is why the Harman Kardon will be so appealing to many – it looks kind of unassuming, but it delivers sound that’s loud enough to bite.

It’s got its teeth right into us, too, as we love the way it grabs hold of rock’n’roll tracks to provide a solid groove, gives proper thump to kick drums – Black Coffee is our go-to mellow Afro House guy right now – and warbling, impactful bass to any underground productions that dare go big on the low-end.

Connectivity is varied too, with Wi-Fi and AirPlay catering for Apple and Android users alike. We’ve been Casting from Spotify using Google Home no problems. If you’re wanting to use Bluetooth only then you’ll need to forego the voice assistant, but oh well, that’s not a big surprise – and the same with Sonos’ Move.

Verdict

While the name doesn’t scream “portable home speaker” by any means, when you get to hear the Citation 200 you’ll scream at just how massive it sounds for such a device.

As we said up top: this speaker will have Sonos quaking in its boots, as it delivers a similar prospect for a cut of the price. And without real compromise to sound, so long as you’re on board with the big bass.

Writing by Mike Lowe.

Amazon Echo Dot 2020 vs Google Nest Mini: Which is the best compact smart speaker?

(Pocket-lint) – Amazon has a new smart speaker, taking the beloved Echo Dot and changing it into more of an Echo Mini, with a new fourth-gen design and boosted audio performance, but still sticking to the same footprint.

But how does this compare to its big rival from Google? This is the Amazon Echo Dot fourth-gen against the Google Nest Mini.

Design and dimensions

Echo Dot (fourth gen): 100 x 100 x 89mm, 328g
Nest Mini: 98 x 98 x 42mm, 173g

The Echo Dot and the Nest Mini look like siblings, both offering a similar finish as both are covered in mesh, both using recycled plastic in their construction and both having a similar footprint.

The big difference is that height – with the Echo Dot having a spherical design, it’s a lot bigger overall. That means that the Echo Dot makes more of a statement on the surface you put it on, while the Nest Mini is a lot more discreet.

The Echo Dot is about double the weight, so it’s more substantial overall and that also means it vibrates less when you turn the volume up. The Nest Mini, on the other hand, can be wall-mounted for convenience, whereas the Echo Dot fourth-gen really needs to be sat on a surface.

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Controls and connections

Echo Dot: Bluetooth, 3.5mm, control buttons, Alexa
Home Mini: Bluetooth, tap to control, Google Assistant

The Echo Dot has raised controls on the top with a light ring around the base, while the Nest Mini relies on taps to control it. It’s a minor thing, but the Echo Dot is immediately easier to control for a person not familiar with it – although both are designed primarily to be controlled via voice – with Alexa or Google Assistant respectively.

The Nest Mini has a physical switch for muting the microphone, which is a lot more deliberate than the button press of the Echo Dot, however.

The Echo Dot has an advantage in offering a 3.5mm connection, should you ever want to hard wire it to another device. Both, however, have Bluetooth, which will mean you can connect to other speakers wirelessly if you wish.

Sound quality

Echo Dot: 40mm speaker
Nest Mini: 40mm speaker

Both these devices have a 40mm speaker and as you might expect, the sound performance is similar. With both these devices being compact, the aim it to get that small format. However, both speakers fire upwards, while the Echo Dot has an advantage with a larger housing.

The larger housing and the increased weight mean the speaker itself has more space and the result is sound that’s better, especially as you turn the volume up. There’s less vibration and distortion and greater clarity, although, ultimately, these devices are limited by the small speaker size overall.

Both speakers can also be stereo paired if you have two Echo Dots or two Nest Mini, and can also be grouped with other devices in the same room or around your home.

Both are good a voice detection too and we’d say they are more or less on a par – we’ve found both to be better than the third-gen Echo Dot.

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Voice assistant and functions

Echo Dot: Alexa
Nest Mini: Google Assistant

Of course both these devices are just vessels for the smart assistant that they carry, Alexa for Amazon and Google Assistant for the Nest Mini. Of the two, Alexa feels like the more natural assistant to talk to, while also offering the better audio quality – Google Assistant is often accompanied by a hiss when replying.

But Google Assistant is smarter, often able to answer questions that Alexa just can’t figure out, no doubt driven by the mine of information that Google has at its disposal.

Alexa is a gateway to Amazon shopping, if that’s what you want, while interfacing with other Amazon properties – like Fire TV, while Nest Mini will work with Chromecast.

Ultimately, the smart skills they offer are similar: once you’ve paired up smart services in their respective apps, both will control a wide range of connected devices like plugs, lights and heating and there’s very little difference overall.

Google has a slight advantage being a native service for Android devices (so anything you can do on Home Mini you can do via voice on your Android phone), but Amazon makes up for most of that deficiency via the Alexa app.

Conclu

Google discontinues its Google Nest Secure alarm system

Google has discontinued its Google Nest Secure alarm system, the company first confirmed to Android Police. And sure enough, if you visit the Nest Secure’s page on the Google Store right now, there’s a big button right at the top that says the product is no longer available.

“Google Nest will no longer be producing Nest Secure, however we will continue to support our security users in all the same ways,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement to The Verge.

Google introduced the Google Nest Secure system in 2017. It was designed to be modular, relying on a small hockey puck-shaped device with a keypad called the Nest Guard as the central hub, sensors around the house called Nest Detects, and NFC key fobs to arm and disarm the system. It also connects to the Nest mobile app so you can get alerts and arm and disarm the system remotely. The Nest Secure system launched at $499, but Google dropped the price to $399 less than a year later.

However, the Nest Guard also had a secret, on-device microphone that buyers didn’t know about until Google added Google Assistant support to the device in February 2019. (A few months later, Google released a set of plain-English privacy commitments about its Nest devices.)

Google isn’t totally out of smart home security, th

Bose Portable Home Speaker review: Sound significantly beyond its size

(Pocket-lint) – If you think you need a big product for big sound then the Bose Portable Home Speaker is here to prove otherwise. This little speaker, complete with its carry handle, might look kind-of innocuous – but the bold sound it can pump out is quite the opposite.

Thing is, Bose being Bose, it’s an expensive purchase. However, with lots of features – from Airplay 2 to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity – it’s smarter than some of the simpler competition out there. And with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant baked in, this could be the only smart speaker you ever need buy.

Design

Dimensions: 192 x 119 x 104mm / Weight: 1kg
Finishes: Triple Black, Luxe Silver
Illuminating top ring for feedback
Built-in control panel buttons
Built-in voice assistants
IPX4 water-resistant
12hr battery life

When we first pulled the Portable Home Speaker out of its box we shrugged, assuming it wouldn’t be especially powerful. How wrong we were: it sounds super, without foregoing its principal purpose. It says it in the product name, right? It’s portable first and foremost, easy to pick up by that carry handle and move wherever you fancy.

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The finish is great too: an aluminium grille littered with small circular openings surrounds the bottom third or so, enabling sound to eminate 360-degrees all around. The top two-thirds is matte finished, almost soft to touch, while the carry handle that pokes out from the sides is a woven material finish.

The whole package is also IPX4 water-resistant – meaning it can protect from splashes in any direction, but not submersion – which is handy should you wish to take the Portable Home Speaker outside of the home (some product names are there to be broken after all, eh?). The battery will last up to 12 hours so long as you’re not hammering it out at top volume, with charging possible via the single USB-C port to the rear.

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Up top is an array of controls – on/off, Bluetooth pairing, Bose setup, mic mute, and a triple panel to control volume down, play/pause and volume up – that means everything is at your fingertips. Or download the Bose Music app to control from afar, which is where you can setup Wi-Fi controls too.

A circular light-up ring uses various colours to let you know when things are happening in terms of connectivity, volume, source and so forth. Having multiple sources, not just Bluetooth, is part of the way this Bose justifies its price over some of the competition. But it does put itself into Sonos territory in terms of pricing.

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Overall the Bose Portable Home Speaker design is neat and tidy, and better looking than an Amazon Echo or Google Nest Audio device, which means it ticks the box as a one-stop shop smart assistant speaker.

Sound

Wi-Fi & Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity
Multi-room functionality
Apple Airplay 2

Although Bose doesn’t release specific technical details about the make-up of the Home Portable Speaker, as we’ve said throughout you wouldn’t think that such a little container could deliver sound quite so large.

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The bass rumbles along with sincerely – strong enough to make a desk vibrate – without masking the presence of higher-end timbre from hi-hats, while allowing vocals to cut through the mid section. It’s a bold delivery wherever you’re standing in relation to the speaker, and whatever genre of music you like listening to.

There are some exceptions to the sound though. First, while the sound is dynamic, it’s less so at lower volumes – so you need to find that sweet spot for it to have the right impact.

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Second, when the Portable Home Speaker is pushed too loud, the bass struggles and it becomes incohesive – so there’s a limit to how loud you can push this thing. If you want huge sound for a big space then you’ll need to buy a larger product.

Verdict

There’s no getting around that the Bose Portable Home Speaker has a rather large asking price. Glance at the product and you’ll probably be left scratching your head as to why. Switch it on, however, and the sensational audio – which is far larger sounding than the product size would suggest – and you’ll suddenly fully understand why.

Not only does the Bose sound great, it’s also genuinely portable, better built than a lot of the competition, and littered with features – Airplay 2 and Wi-Fi in addition to Bluetooth – that some Bluetooth-only competitors lack.

The Bose Portable Home Speaker does exactly what it says on the tin, but it’s so much more than the sum of its title too. It’s a super impressive little speaker with genuinely big sound.

Also consider

Pocket-lint

Sonos Move

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It’s far bigger and even more expensive, but if you want something more embedded in the home – while still remaining portable for those occasional extras – then Sonos does a grand job.

Read our review

Pocket-lint

Amazon Echo Plus

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At the other end of the price scale, if you want something cheaper, still portable, and with an integrated smart assistant then Amazon’s homegrown product makes a lot of sense for more modest budgets.

Best Bluetooth speakers 2020: Top portable speakers to buy today

Read our review

Writing by Mike Lowe.