LG TVs will become Matter-compatible Google Home hubs – but is this the end for Nest hubs?

One door opens, and another door closes

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Much like last year’s event,CES 2024is all about Matter – andGoogleisn’t missing a beat, announcing in a blog post its plans to bolster TVs with Matter-compatibleGoogle Homesoftware.

While Google’s smart home developments, both in terms of hardware and software, have slowed significantly in recent years, the brand played a foundational role in the creation of theMatterstandard.

As such, it doesn’t seem all that surprising for Google to increase the options consumers have to set up and control their smart home; that is until you consider that this move could stand to make Google’s ownNest hubsobsolete.

New year, new home hub

In a blog post, Google announced its plans to transformLGTVs into Matter-compatible Google Home hubs, as well as select Google TVs and other Android TV OS devices. Right now, there’s only a loose timeline of “later this year”, according to a press conference delivered by LG earlier this week, which also highlighted that users will be able to “see, control, and manage both LG and Google Home devices from TVs or the ThinQ app.”

This news comes following announcements fromSamsung that SmartThings will have an improved TV experience this year, so clearly there’s a real push to break out smart home ecosystems out of thebest smart speakersandbest smart displays.

While Google did reference its existing home hub hardware briefly in the blog post, it was scarcely an honorary mention acknowledging their existence. Realistically, though, this announcement means Google Home fans who aren’t particularly interested in Nest devices will no longer need one to control their smart homes.

Google Graveyard-bound?

Now, let’s briefly talk about the future of Google’s smart home. It’s been nearly three years since we’ve seen any new hubs from Google, and while for a time that filled me with excitement for some big news to come, I’m growing increasingly nervous – especially given some ofGoogle’s Fitbit newsthis year – that there may be trouble ahead for Google smart home fans.

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In 2023 alone we saw more features stripped from Google’s hubs than added, especially compared toAmazon’s ever-increasing array of skills andApple’s somewhat stagnant but solid approach.

For instance, the Sleep Sensing feature mentioned earlier was free to preview all through 2023, but in 2024 Google plans to integrate it intoFitbit Premium, a subscription-based service.Support for some features on Zoom and Meet endedin September,Dropcam support ended in Apriland a host of other Google Assistant voice apps got the chop, too.

Now, there could be a host of reasons development has slowed in the Google smart home labs.Google’s Gemini LLMcould be a big factor here, with the tech giant potentially vying to develop the most advanced smart assistant possible, but that doesn’t necessarily explain some of the more conservative decisions made by Google in recent months.

Personally, I’m actually really excited to see TVs become more involved in smart home shenanigans; they are, after all, the central axis around which much of life at home rotates. I just hope it doesn’t come at the expense of Nest hubs.

We’re covering all of the latestCES newsfrom the show as it happens. Stick with us for the big stories on everything from8KTVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

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Josephine Watson (@JosieWatson) is TechRadar’s Managing Editor - Lifestyle. Josephine is an award-winning journalist (PPA 30 under 30 2024), having previously written on a variety of topics, from pop culture to gaming and even the energy industry, joining TechRadar to support general site management. She is a smart home nerd, champion of TechRadar’s sustainability efforts as well and an advocate for internet safety and education. She has used her position to fight for progressive approaches towards diversity and inclusion, mental health, and neurodiversity in corporate settings. Generally, you’ll find her fiddling with her smart home setup, watching Disney movies, playing on her Switch, or rewatching the extended edition of Lord of the Rings… again.

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