Google's Nest Hub Surprise Will Have Owners Sleeping Soundly Until At Least 2024

Google gives owners of a 2nd generation Nest Hub a holiday surprise with another free year of its Sleep Sensing feature. The feature was originally scheduled to become a paid feature at the end of 2022.

The Google Nest Hub is a multi-purpose smart device that can stream Netflix, control your smart home, keep your family connected, and more. Owners of the 2nd generation Nest Hub have had the opportunity to experience the company's Sleep Sensing feature for free the last year. This feature gives users an early morning sleep summary of how well they slept throughout the night. Sleep Sensing was slated to become a paid feature at the end of 2022, but Google recently announced it would also extend the free period through 2022.


If you are wondering how a Nest Hub is able to track a person's sleep, it uses Motion Sense to track the sleep of the person closest to the display. Motion Senses utilizes a low-energy radar in order to detect movement and breathing. While Motion Sense is tracking movement, other sensors in Nest Hub are detecting sounds such as snoring and coughing, light changes, and temperature in the room.

Through Sleep Sensing, the Nest Hub can determine when you went to bed, how long you slept, and the quality of your sleep. Once the device is set up to use the Sleep Sensing feature, the user simply needs to sleep in the spot configured. There is no need for having to wear a smart wearable, such as a Google Pixel Watch.

Google has stated that it has "plans to integrate Sleep Sensing into Fitbit Premium" in 2024. While the company has not given any specifics, it is not a far stretch to think it could be integrated with the Pixel Watch and Fitbit smartwatches. Google has already made it possible for the wrist-based heart data of Google Fit to be displayed along with other Nest Hub sleep stats.

Sleep Sensing could prove to be a handy feature for those who want to track their nightly sleep patterns, but are not a fan of wearing a smartwatch to bed. For those who already track their sleep with a smartwatch, it will probably not be worth it after 2023 when the feature becomes integrated into Fitbit Premium. Currently, Fitbit Premium runs $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year.