Will this bedside smart display really help you sleep?

The Google Nest Hub 2 is finally here in this week’s Totally Rated

Totally Rated
(Image credit: Future)

Monitoring your sleep using motion-sensing technology, the Google Nest Hub 2 detects how much you move around at night and listens to noises like coughing or snoring. Combining that data in the Google Fit app, you’ll get to see advice and insights about your rest periods. Over time, it will become more and more reliable as the system learns about your sleep patterns. 

In this week’s episode of Totally Rated the Google Nest Hub 2 has arrived, Megalomania runs wild and Outriders finally ride! First up, GamesRadar cast first impressions of Outriders. Windows Central and PC Gamer run the rule over Evil Genius 2: World Domination. And in the world of tech, Tom’s Guide and Android Central rest their heads to review the Google Nest Hub 2. 

GamesRadar spent a week stomping around planet Enoch, they came back with some first impressions of Outriders: 

“Outriders’ super-charged combat is fantastic for the most part,” said GamesRadar’s Alex Avard. 

“It’s comparable to playing Gears of War at hyperspeed. It’s dreary in-your-face story isn’t nearly as entertaining. 

“You are funnelling you into exposition filled cut scenes where the only saving grace is a handful of dried humoured remarks by your customizable super soldier.”

The Google Nest Hub 2 has finally arrived in the world of tech. The new bedside companion comes with some interesting sleep tracking features. It uses the Soli radar sensing chip to see how well (or not well) you're sleeping at night. 

“Compared to the original Nest Hub, the Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) is a more attractive smart display in every way,” said Tom’s Guide’s  Kate Kozuch. 

“The aesthetic upgrades, though minor, make it look more luxurious than the fair $99 price suggests. 

“I already liked Google Assistant's smart display UI, but it’s somehow sharper than before. Soli’s sensing abilities, though could be improved, make sleep tracking less cumbersome than you’d expect. Even if it’s a little creepy.”

For people looking to upgrade from the first Google Nest Hub, Android Central’s Dan Bader, thinks it’s an easy answer. 

“If you already have a Nest Hub, buying an additional unit for your bedside table is a no-brainer as long as you can stomach the idea of Google listening to you sleep,” said Daniel. 

“It's as a digital photo frame and a smart home controller where the Nest Hub finds its footing — the same ground on which it stood two years ago as the best smart display you can buy.”

Back to gaming and Evil Genius 2: World Domination unleashed its diabolical plan on PC by getting you to stop worrying and love the bomb!

Windows Central said it ‘draws on its past and injects some much-needed modernity, culminating in what is ultimately a satisfying strategy sandbox with a relentlessly rewarding gameplay loop and light-hearted comedy.’ 

PC Gamer gave it a thumbs up as well, calling it one of the best management games out there. But they did feel the gameplay is too stretched out saying: “It feels it could offer a tight 20-hour game—more than enough considering there are four different Geniuses to play as. 

“But this is stretched to 30 or 40 hours by overlong missions and a whole lot of waiting for stuff to happen.” 

New episodes of Totally Rated will roll out every Thursday. 

Yasmine Crossland
Freelance Tech Expert

Yasmine is the former Reviews Writer for T3, so she's been knee-deep in the latest tech products for reviewing and curating into the best buying guides since she started in 2019. She keeps a finger on the pulse when it comes to the most exciting and innovative tech and is happy to tell you exactly what she thinks about it too. In her free time, you'll catch her travelling the globe – the perks of being a freelance tech expert – tending to her plants when at home and, but of course, planning her next big trip.