

Recording history is harder to scroll through, layouts aren’t as intuitive or useful, and menus are often incredibly confusing.

On top of that, the Google Home app has received a lot of criticism for its design, which is largely agreed to be a step backward from the older Nest app. The new Nest Doorbell supports integration with the “At a Glance” feature on Google Pixel, devices, for instance, but the older Nest Hello doesn’t, only because it lacks full integration with the Home app. Plus, this also means that older products lose out on newer features. Further, it means you can’t see events in a single app, as you’ll need to switch between the two to see history. If you have a Nest Cam IQ inside, but a Nest Doorbell (battery) outside, you might get notifications from both the Home app and the Nest app for the same person entering your home. If your home setup employs more than one type of camera, though, this can obviously get pretty messy pretty quickly. You’ll find full recording history, in-depth settings, and a history of events through the Home app, as well as the ability to get notifications.

Newer Nest cameras, like the Nest Cam (battery) or Nest Doorbell 2nd Generation, on the other hand, fully integrate with the Google Home app. The same applies to third-party cameras such as ones from Arlo. Beyond that, some third-party cameras can also be used in the same feed, but everything has a different level of integration.įor older Nest products like the Nest Cam IQ or Nest Cam Indoor, you’ll only find support for viewing live feeds and turning the camera off or on through the Google Home app. The Google Home app first added support for Nest cameras a few years ago, adding a unified feed for your Nest cameras in later updates. This is how cameras work in the Google Home app Ever since Google introduced a new lineup of Nest cameras to its smart-home lineup, there’s been a ton of confusion around the Google Home app, the Nest app, and which Nest Cam works where.
