The Pixel Pill’s dock ought to have been a Nest speaker

I’m not shocked; I’m simply disillusioned.

As anticipated, Google launched the Pixel Pill at its Google I/O developer convention yesterday. It’s an 11-inch Android pill with a “charging speaker dock,” and when it’s on the dock, it appears to be like and capabilities like a Nest Hub Max, Google’s top-of-the-line good show. Google stored saying the Pixel Pill was “like” a sensible show, whereas insisting that it isn’t one.

The factor is, when the pill is docked in Hub mode, it actually looks like a sensible show. The pill acts like a digital picture body. You’ll be able to speak to Google Assistant. You should utilize it as a sensible house controller. You’ll be able to Chromecast audio and video to it. These are all issues the Nest Hub does. The dock, which comes with the pill, makes it clear that the pill is meant to dwell out within the open, not shoved in a drawer or wherever folks preserve tablets once they’re not utilizing them.

The Residence Panel on the Pixel Pill.

Now, there are a variety of the explanation why an Android pill is a greater good house controller than the underpowered, uncared for Nest Hubs. I imply, the phrases “underpowered” and “uncared for” are huge ones. The Pixel Pill is a little bit of a do-over, with a contemporary interface, rather more highly effective {hardware}, and a a lot bigger app ecosystem. It has the potential to be a fantastic good show and good house controller — however there’s one main omission in attaining that potential.

I simply can’t determine why the dock isn’t a Nest speaker.

At launch — phrases I’ll come again to — it’s only a dock. It expenses the Pixel Pill, and it has audio system that the pill can use when it’s docked. And it permits that Hub mode I used to be speaking about. Whenever you take the pill off the dock, it’s a pill. However the dock is simply muddle. You’ll be able to’t solid audio to it, you possibly can’t ask it questions, and you may’t even use it to cost your different units. It simply takes up area.

Earlier than Google I/O, I had this entire idea in my head that it could be a Nest speaker. The choice simply didn’t make sense. It’s no less than as huge as a Nest speaker. It has audio system in it. It’s at all times plugged in, and it’s designed to be out within the open. It’s rumored to value $130 by itself, which is greater than a Nest Audio or a Nest Hub.

If it have been a Nest speaker, it could nonetheless be helpful when somebody walks off with the pill. If it had a Matter controller and a Thread border router in it, as a number of Nest Hubs do, it might work in tandem with the Pixel Pill to be a one-stop good house answer, even when the pill is elsewhere. As an alternative, you continue to want a separate gadget (or two) to manage your good house, along with your $500 pill and its cumbersome dock. I’m not the one one to note the missed potential right here.

It makes a variety of sense to make use of an Android pill as a household good house controller, nevertheless it makes much less sense for that good house controller to be unavailable as a result of any person took the display screen off and is enjoying Minecraft within the subsequent room. A Nest speaker within the dock fixes the “the place did the pill go” drawback, and the Pixel Pill fixes the largest drawback with the Nest Hub good shows, which is that they’re basically voice-first good audio system with an ungainly touchscreen interface grafted on, working on {hardware} that struggles to maintain up.

That is only a dock. It doesn’t have a microphone or a privateness change.

I feel the dock was alleged to do extra. And both there was a change of course or a few of the {hardware} is there however dormant as a result of Google simply didn’t get it completed in time for I/O. Contemplate the next.

In early 2022 — earlier than the Pixel Pill was introduced eventually yr’s I/O — there was a rumor that Google was engaged on a Nest Hub with a removable show. Late final yr, Google appeared to be ramping up improvement on Fuchsia OS prematurely of a brand new Nest speaker launch in 2023. And it has spent the final two years porting its present Nest Hub audio system to Fuchsia. The second-gen Nest Hub obtained the OS final week. All to no apparent outcome; all of them nonetheless run the identical dilapidated entrance finish as earlier than, and no new Nest merchandise have been introduced. That’s a variety of effort to go to for nothing.

For some time, I used to be half-convinced that not solely was the dock a Nest speaker but in addition that the Residence Panel interface of the Pixel Pill was truly working on the dock itself and simply overlaid on Android when the pill was docked. And that, as a result of that Residence Panel interface didn’t seem like the Nest Hub interface, Google was about to replace the Nest Hub interfaces when the Pixel Pill launched. Simply goes to indicate you shouldn’t imagine one thing is true simply since you need it to be true or since you’re fed up along with your Nest Hub Max and don’t need to spend $500.

If this seems like I’m greedy at straws, to start with: in all probability! The charging dock doesn’t have a microphone or a privateness change, so it’s virtually actually not a Nest speaker. However second, take a look at what Anish Kattukaran, the director of product on Google Residence, instructed my colleague Jennifer Pattison Tuohy: “at launch, the brand new Pixel Pill is not going to be a Matter controller or Thread border router.”

“At launch” is a bizarre solution to put it if what you imply is “by no means.” So there’s a slim hope that the good house management capabilities no less than may nonetheless be within the dock.

Simply goes to indicate you shouldn’t imagine one thing is true simply since you need it to be true

In fact, Google did lay off a bit of the Fuchsia dev group in January — shoutout to 9to5Google for staying on high of Fuchsia information, by the best way — after which reorged the Assistant group in March, so perhaps plans modified. Or perhaps they tried the Nest speaker factor and determined it was too complicated, or they couldn’t get the working programs to play properly. Or they couldn’t get the group to play properly. Possibly they’re nonetheless engaged on it! Possibly they’ll have a unique dock coming later that does have a Nest speaker in it.

Or perhaps the Nest Hub is an evolutionary useless finish, and the speaker dock is only a huge, costly charging stand for an Android pill. That Android pill will probably be good house controller when it’s docked, thanks largely to the brand new Google Residence app and the truth that it’s designed to sit down out within the open. However the good house wants a fantastic controller. The Pixel Pill has all the best parts. It’s too dangerous the dock is only a dock.

Pictures by Dan Seifert / The Verge