Tech Hive

We knew it was coming, and now it’s here: a new HD streaming stick from Walmart with Google TV, a remote, and an enticingly affordable price tag. On sale now at Walmart for just $14.88, the Google TV Full HD Streaming Device from Walmart’s Onn brand (as spotted by 9to5Google) looks pretty much as we expected, with a streaming stick form factor, a microSD power port, and a Google remote, complete with a Google Assistant button and shortcuts for a quartet of streaming services. We first learned of Walmart’s new Google streamer back in July, when documents for the player surfaced at the FCC. This…

Google is still promising to add Nest Protect support to the Home app, but based on a recent update, we shouldn’t hold our breath. In an AMA session on Reddit earlier this week (as relayed by 9to5Google), a Google product manager wrote that “the team is exploring how to bring support for Nest Protect to the Home App,” adding that “we can’t share timing just yet.” Unsurprisingly, the response elicited groans from Nest Protect users, with one writing that the update “doesn’t really instill much confidence.” It’s easy to understand the frustration of Nest Protect owners, who have been waiting yea…

Nest and Chromecast users will reap almost immediate benefits from Google’s recent legal win over Sonos, with Google announcing that it will roll back restrictions blocking certain Nest and Chromecast devices from joining more than one speaker group at once. In a post on its Nest community site, Google said an update that initiates the rollback will begin “immediately,” and that the changes should go live in the Android version of the Google Home app within “48 hours,” followed “soon” by the Google Home app for iOS. Google’s move comes soon after a federal judge in California tossed a $32.5 mi…

Besides coming to Google Assistant, Google’s generative AI tech will be helping to enhance the Google Home app, perfect for filtering all the items in your event history and event creating new automations. Announced during its Made by Google event in New York on Wednesday, the new version of Google Home will arrive with baked-in generative AI smarts designed to deliver a “streamlined” rundown of what’s going on in your smart home. For example, rather than having to scroll through a lengthy feed of unordered events, the revamped Google Home will be able to present a “quick and easy summary” of …

It’s only been a couple of weeks since Amazon promised a new Alexa with generative AI smarts, and in a shocking development–just kidding, we knew it all along–Google is promising the same thing for Google Assistant. During its annual Made for Google event in New York on Wednesday, Google unwrapped Assistant with Bard, a new version of Google Assistant that’s powered by Google’s ChatGPT rival. So far, Google is only talking about Assistant with Bard on mobile devices, including both Android and iOS handsets. That said, it seems likely that Assistant with Bard on Google’s Nest smart displays and…

Both Google Meet and Zoom are hanging up on the Google Nest Hub Max, with the two group video calling services announcing that they’ll drop support for Google’s largest Nest Hub display by the end of the month. Google Meet calls on the Nest Hub Max will stop working on September 28, as Google Assistant just told me, while a note on a Zoom help page says support for Zoom on the display will end on September 30. News of the Nest Hub Max losing Google Meet and Zoom support was reported earlier by 9to5Google. This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart speakers and di…

Phone and tablet makers have been finding ingenious ways to put those devices to use when they’re not in your hands. Take Google, which turns its Pixel Tablet into a quasi-smart display when it’s attached to its magnetic speaker dock, and now Apple is doing something similar with StandBy mode on the iPhone. I’ve been playing with StandBy, which is slated to arrive today in Apple’s iOS 17 update, for about a week, and I’ve been surprised how much I’ve enjoyed it. Now, instead of sitting on my bedside charging stand with a blank screen as I’m dozing off or waking up, my iPhone can display a cloc…

In “better late than never” news, Google has announced that you can begin moving your oldest Nest cameras to Google Home, provided you’re signed up for the preview program of the Google Home app. The Nest Cam Indoor is the first of the original Nest cams to make the move to Google Home, Google announced in a blog post. Next up will be the Nest Cam Outdoor, with other first-gen Nest cameras “to come.” Google didn’t give a timeline for when the Nest Cam Outdoor or the rest of its first-gen Nest camera lineup would be migrated to Google Home. This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverag…

A short conversation with ChatGPT or Google Bard is enough to make Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri sound like dullards, and now Google is said to be pouring its efforts into giving its Assistant a much-needed AI revamp. In an internal e-mail obtained by Axios, two top Google execs described the “huge opportunity” presented by a “supercharged” Google Assistant that is “powered by the latest LLM technology” (LLM being an acronym for large language model). The memo, sent by Google VP Peeyush Ranjan and director of product Duke Dukellis, noted that “a portion” of the Google Assistant team “begin…

At a glance Expert’s RatingProsFeature-rich remoteGoogle TV software makes sense of streamingSuper cheap even without sale pricesConsPerformance can drag on occasionNo Dolby Vision or Dolby Atmos supportGoogle TV guide still has some blind spotsOur VerdictFor less than $20, Walmart’s Google TV box is surprisingly solid. Price When Reviewed$19.88 Best Prices Today: Walmart Onn 4K Google TV Streaming Box (2023 model) Retailer Price $19.88 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Price comparison from Backmarket You might not expect much from Walmart’s Onn 4K Streaming Box, gi…