First spotted by 9to5Google, the first-gen Nest Hub shows a new “Bluetooth” menu in settings following the latest update. It lists all previously paired devices and lets you pair a new Bluetooth device. The menu also houses an option to use the smart display as a Bluetooth speaker. Interestingly, these features are not available on other Nest Smart Displays, including the latest ones, all of which run Cast OS. Google switched the operating system of the first-gen Nest Hub to Fuchsia OS last year. Perhaps the company wants to bring the whole lineup to Fuchsia OS for these kinds of capabilities. There have been signs of ongoing work for the Nest Hub Max. But for now, you will have to set up Bluetooth connections for your Nest smart display from the Google Home app unless you have the first-gen model.
Google improves the Fuchsia experience on the first-gen Nest Hub
The original Nest Hub is also getting an app launcher with the latest Fuchsia OS update. According to the new report, it’s the same launcher that rolled out to the Nest Hub Max and the 2nd-gen Nest Hub last year. You can swipe up from the bottom of the screen to reveal six recent apps above the quick settings strip. A “See all” button will let you see the full list of apps or actions in the drawer. There are 19 in total: Assistant, Broadcast, Calendar, Contacts, Duo, Games, Netflix, News, Pandora, Podcasts, Reminders, Shopping, Spotify, Stories, Timer, Weather, YouTube Music, YouTube TV, and YouTube. This update for the first-gen Nest Hub further brings a reorganized About device page under System settings. The “Fuchsia Version” is now prominently displayed to tell you what version your device is running. All in all, Google is improving the Fuchsia experience on the original Nest Hub after switching it to the new operating system a year ago. As said earlier, the latest changes are currently limited to the Preview program. They should roll out in the stable channel in the coming weeks, once Google irons out all the bugs and issues with the new software package.
