Google Nest Hub Max losing support for joining Meet and Zoom calls

Big changes are coming to Google Meet and Zoom on the Google Nest Hub Max, with the former dropping support for joining certain Google Meet calls while the latter will nix completely nix video call support.

Starting on September 28, Google Nest Hub Max users will no longer be able to join Google Meet calls using meeting codes or links, while a note on a Zoom help page says support for Zoom on the display will end altogether on September 30.

News of the Nest Hub Max losing Google Meet and Zoom support was reported earlier by 9to5Google.

This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart speakers and displays.

While you soon won’t be able to use the Nest Hub Max to join Meet calls via a link or a code, you will still be able to launch video calls with Google Duo–which is in the process of merging with Meet–on the display.

Here’s more detail from a Google spokesperson:

There is no change to making 1:1 and group video calls to friends, family and businesses with Google Meet.  What’s changing at the end of September is the support for joining meetings via meeting codes and links in Meet.

Meanwhile, you can still join Google Meet video calls with a link or a code on the Google Pixel Tablet, the new Google tablet that turns into a quasi-smart display when attached to its magnetic dock. Zoom works on the Pixel Tablet as well, of course, and there are no indications that Zoom will drop smart display support on the Amazon Echo Show 8 and 10.

Google added Meet support for the Google Nest Hub Max in June 2020, at the height of the pandemic. Zoom support followed soon thereafter, with Zoom also launching on Amazon and Facebook smart displays. (Facebook nixed its Portal smart displays and devices earlier this year.)

Group video calling on the 10-inch Google Nest Hub Max would seem like a natural fit, and it was a no-brainer during 2020’s Covid lockdowns.

The loss of support for Google Meet–or at least, for joining more business-minded Meet calls–and Zoom on the Nest Hub Max comes at a time when Google seems to be losing interest in its Nest Hub smart displays. The Nest Hub Max is now four years old, while the second-generation Nest Hub came out in 2021. 

There haven’t been any recent indications that new Nest Hub devices are on the horizon. Indeed, the recently released Pixel Tablet with its speaker dock appears to be the closest we’ll get to a Nest Hub successor.

For now, you can start a Google Meet or Zoom call on the Google Nest Hub Max by saying “Hey Google, start a meeting” to Google Assistant; you’ll get the choice of starting the call on either Meet or Zoom.

During the call, the Nest Hub Max’s “auto-framing” feature keeps you in the frame even when you move around the room.

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Updated shortly after publication with a comment from Google, and to clarify that the Nest Hub Max will lose support for Google Meet calls joined via links and codes.