Best in class hardware, mediocre software
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The equipment is futuristic-looking and designed to look good on the front porch.
Looks great on the front door.Lifewire / Rob LeFebvre
It’s a stunning design that I’m proud to put on my house.
A battery-powered smart doorbell is pretty fantastic, though, and the Wireless Nest Doorbell ticks all the boxes.
Google Wireless Nest Doorbell
Amazon
Gorgeous industrial design.
Amazon
Video and audio is crisp and clear.
Google Home app is boring and a little confusing at times.
Tiny key for removing the doorbell is easy to misplace.
Charging the Google Wireless Nest Doorbell via USB-C.Lifewire / Rob LeFebvre
(Ask me how I know.)
The Nest Doorbell then clicked into place, and I was up and running.
The software was a little less easy, though it’s pretty intuitive.
Three Google Home Nest Doorbell Settings pages.
It worked, but using the key is much easier.
The wired version of the Nest Doorbell can do that, however.
When someone arrives at your door, you might get a notification that there’s someone there.
With aNest Aware subscription, it will recognize faces and let you knowwhois there.
Getting a notification when UPS brings a box, or FedEx walks up with a large envelope is nice.
It’s just that I’d love for a dedicated app to manage my Wireless Nest Doorbell.
Amazon’s Ring app seems much more well-thought-out, and the addition of social networking is a fun feature.
Does It Work?
Of course, and it works well and as advertised.
I can tap through the camera and hear a live view of my porch.
The view is crisp, and the audio is clean.
It’s just, well, not fun.
The hardware is so slick and cool-looking that the software doesn’t match.
