One of the best sources of upcoming devices, or at least planned devices, is the FCC certification filings and documents. The newest one spotted for Google products is a possible new smart display. Not only does it seem to be a smart display but it may also come with the Soli radar technology similar to what we see on the Nest Hub Max. Of course, since this is still a filing, it doesn’t mean we can expect a new smart display announcement soon or even at all.
9 to 5 Google shares a new FCC filing for A4R-GUIK2 which has been classified as an “Interactive Device”. While there isn’t any direct information about the device itself, there are some clues to be found from some of the details in the filing. For example, the word “interactive” has been previously used as the classification for smart displays and speakers in previous Google FCC filings. Nest Hub was “Google Interactive”, Nest Hub Max was “Interactive Video Streaming Device”, Nest Mini was “Interactive media streaming device, etc.
The device has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Zigbee which may be part of the Connected Home IP effort of the whole industry, since it’s a wireless communication protocol for smart home devices. The group aims to develop and promote a new, royalty-free standard that will increase home compatibility among your smart home products. Security is also a “fundamental design tenet” of this working group.
Another clue that this is a smart display is that it has the FCC e-label which the Nest Hub and the Nest Hub Max both have in the system settings under the Regulatory labels page. There also seems to be the Soli radar technology at 58–63.5 GHz. This means it might support precise controls with air gestures like holding up your palm to the front-facing camera to play or pause media.
We’ll probably find out in a few months if we’re getting a new Nest Hub with Soli gestures. It wouldn’t be such a surprise of course since this is a natural evolution for smart displays.
