Nest Hello, Google’s smart doorbell is finally being released in the UK. After being released in the USA in March 2018.
The UK release date is June 13th 2018 and the much-anticipated price is £229 or with installation £329.
Installation is required for Nest Hello as unlike competitors it only comes hard wired for power. Google have commented this is by design and stops the requirement for charging a battery as well as ensuring it is always recording, making it more secure.
We assume the installers will be subcontracts and not actually Google employees. This is how Nest Thermostats are installed, contractors join a nest approved scheme and the work gets referred to a local approved installer.
Nest Hello has some impressive features, including:
- Pre-recorded sound bites – perfect for when you don’t want to speak to a cold caller. You can just a sound bite and it is played to the caller. Currently it does support custom recordings so you are limited those that are supplied.
- Facial recognition to tell you who is at the door, if the face has been named in your account. For example, your regular cleaner. This feature however this does require a nest subscription.
- Echo and noise cancellation – to prevent street or background noise.
- 4 x 3 aspect ratio meaning you can see the video in portrait and get a wider view
Google have a hard job on their hand trying to overtake an already quite advanced Amazon Ring Doorbell. Ring is on their second model, Ring 2, and has a range designed for professional use or those looking for even more features, Ring Pro.
Last year Ring updated their privacy policy to cover facial recognition, hinting this feature will be added to their product.
For more a detailed comparison of Ring vs Nest Hello take a look at our guide: Ring vs Nest Hello.
Who will win Google or Amazon is anyone’s guess! Amazon is currently winning the smart assistant battle with Alexa but will it also be able to win in the Smart Doorbell space?
One thing we do know for sure is the battle of Google vs Amazon in the Smart Home space will just intensify!