It's been more than a year since Ikea's smart hub got a Matter update, but up until now, the Dirigea hub could only act as a bridge between Ikea devices and existing Matter networks. That's about to change thanks to a just-released firmware update. Dirigea firmware update 2.805.6 gives the Dirigea hub Matter controller capabilities, meaning it can now discover and take charge of Matter devices, including those from third-party manufacturers. The firmware update was confirmed by an Ikea rep on Reddit. Previously, the Dirigera hub could only expose Ikea devices to other Matter controllers, such as the Apple HomePod mini, the Amazon Echo, and the Google Nest Hub.

Black Friday is a time of mystery, and a time to empty your bank account. If you've been on the fence regarding some of these devices, like the well-regarded Google Nest Hub smart home controller/display, now could be your time to shine. These Black Friday deals on smart home gadgets extend beyond the smart display. Here are all of the various Google Nest gadgets on sale today, so you can avoid the big box retail stores and any chance of being trampled by excited shoppers. Target's selling the Google Nest Hub smart display for just $50, which is half off the MSRP and one heck of a deal.

Amazon's Prime Day sale for October 2023 is in full swing, but Walmart got the jump on its fellow retailer with a sale of its own that it launched yesterday. The Holiday Kickoff sale is like a Walmart Prime Day sale, which we've seen other storefronts host in the past. It's a way for the company to take advantage of the shopping buzz generated by Amazon -- and a way for you to save at more than one outlet. We combed through what Walmart had to offer and found the tech savings that are worth your time. One thing to note is that Walmart carries some devices that Amazon doesn't, like the Google Nest Hub, which is down to $60.

Just one day before Amazon kicks off its October Prime Day, Walmart has launched a Holiday Kickoff sale. We've seen retailers host "anti-Prime" sales before, offering their own discounts that go live on or just before the big Amazon sales. We dove in to the deals and searched for the tech savings that are worth your time. One notable plus is that Walmart carries some devices that Amazon doesn't, like the Google Nest Hub. Other worthwhile deals include the 9th generation iPad for $1 less than it sold for during Amazon's July Prime Day and an Xbox Elite Series 2 core controller for just $88.

Apple sold 2.4 million smart speakers in the U.S. market during first quarter of 2021, according to the market research firm Omdia, beating Google's sales by 100,000 units during the same period. The firm estimates the new Apple HomePod mini accounted for 91 percent of Apple's U.S. smart speaker sales during that time. Apple's share of smart speaker shipments in the U.S. market reached 17.8 percent during the first quarter, a 9 percent increase year over year. But Omdia estimates there were 75 million smart speakers based on Google Assistant on the market at the end of 2020, compared to just 10 million based on Apple's Siri. And Amazon dominates both of those competitors, with a current installed base of 141 million smart speakers using its Alexa voice assistant.

Google's second-generation Nest Hub smart display now comes with radar-based sleep tracking as it attempts to keep Amazon's Alexa at bay. The new Nest Hub costs £89.99 on launch, which makes it cheaper than its predecessor and slightly undercuts competitors of a similar size. The second-generation unit has the same design as the original but is ever-so-slightly taller. The 7in LCD screen looks great and is crisp enough for viewing at arm's length or further, making it perfect for use as a digital photo frame. The body is now made of recycled plastic and the screen is covered in an edgeless glass, which makes it easier to wipe clean.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That seems to be the idea behind the second-gen Google Nest Hub, which--at first glance, anyway--could easily be mistaken for the original. This new Nest Hub keeps the first's slim, fabric-covered base and "floating" seven-inch display, along with onboard Google Assistant, an attractive, easy-to-use interface, plenty of video, music, and other entertainment options, and some of the best home automation functionality you'll find in a smart display. Sounds like a yawner, right? Well, that's literally true when it comes to the Nest Hub deux's major new feature: Sleep Sensing, an opt-in feature that allows the display to monitor your sleep without the need for a wristband. Powered by a tiny, built-in radar, the Nest Hub can actually sense your breathing as you slumber, and it'll give you detailed reports about your sleep history and quality.

As summer slowly winds to a close and the first day of remote learning remains weeks away (for many of us, anyway), it's easy--way too easy--to let the kids go nuts on their iPads while the grown-ups toil at home. Luckily, Google Assistant has a new feature to help keep young ones from disappearing into their bean bags. Slated to roll out starting today in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, and India, the new Family Bell feature lets you create bells that sound on your Google smart speakers and displays, just like the bells at school. For example, you can day "Hey Google, create a Family Bell" to set reminder bells for breakfast, the start of a virtual camp day, recess in the backyard, or dinner time. You can ask Google Assistant to set a Family Bell on recurring days of the week, and in specific rooms.

The Google smart display in your kitchen or bedroom is perfect for watching YouTube TV, Hulu, or casting Disney, but up until now, it hasn't been able to play video from the most popular streaming service on the planet: Netflix. Google just announced that its Google Nest Hub and Hub Max will be the first smart displays to support Netflix. Google says that Netflix on the Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max will start rolling out today, and it will be supported anywhere that Netflix and the two Google smart displays are available. To watch Netflix on your Nest Hub or Hub Max, just go to the Google Home app and link your Netflix account. You can do so by tapping the " " button in the top-left corner of the Google Home interface and selecting Video under the Add services heading.

It took senior editor Nicole Lee a bit of time to figure out where the Google Nest Hub (originally the Google Home Hub) fit into her life because it seemed too small to be used like a typical home assistant device. At a mere 7 inches, the smart display is meant to be a personal assistant for any room of the house. Because the Nest Hub lacks a camera, it's even good for the bedroom. Once Nicole started using the Nest Hub like a digital photo frame, albeit one with the smarts to control home automated devices that can also use Google apps, she began to see the strengths of this discreet commected display. In the end, she granted the Nest Hub a commendable score of 87. User reviewers, who always tend to score more harshly, gave the Nest Hub a passable score of 72.