I received a Google Nest Hub as part of a promotion with a Google One subscription, and for years, it was the organizational center of my smart home setup. It handled timers and alarms, answered quick questions, streamed news, music, and podcasts, and reminded me of calendar appointments and events when I woke. What it lacked, however, was flexibility â it did what it was designed to do, but that was about it.
This limitation became more obvious as my requirements evolved. As I started to travel more for work and leisure, I needed better customization, more app support, and, perhaps most importantly, better portability. This is when my thoughts turned to the old Pixel 5, sitting unused in my drawer.
It struck me that my âoutdatedâ phone could be far more useful than a dedicated smart speaker in almost every way, so I set about configuring the old device to suit a new purpose.
I turned my old tablet into a smart home dashboard, and it's perfect
I use my 1st-gen iPad Pro as a smart home dashboard