New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on August 31, 2021) follows:

Google has slowly been integrating its Nest smart home brand into its own fold over the past few years. The advantage of this is that one can mix smart displays and other devices that connect to Google Assistant.

Two newly released devices that are proof of this integration are the Nest Cam Battery and Nest Doorbell Battery. The latter has no sign of any Nest branding upfront.

Instead, all you get is Google’s familiar G logo indicating that Nest has indeed been gobbled by Google. The smart Doorbell is also cheaper than the first-gen, has a better design, and is battery-powered just like its name indicates.

google-nest-doorbell-battery

As for the Nest Cam, it is the first in second-gen doorbells and cameras from the device maker. The cam is designed for indoor and outdoor use and comes with person, animal, and vehicle detection.

Unfortunately, the new Nest Cam Battery alongside the new Doorbell still lack the ability to live-feed to a computer because a web client does not exist. This is because it no longer works with the Nest app like other Nest devices.

nest-battery-cam-no-web-app
Source

Instead, device owners are forced to use the Google Home app that has been declared by many as being inferior to the Nest app due to a lack of features. Some of such features include:

I can’t review footage in the Google Home app
I don’t get a summary of events
I can’t skip forward or back 15secs
I can’t save footage to share quickly
I can’t configure the camera settings or view any technical details
Source

Furthermore, the lack of any desktop native or web app means that one can’t view the footage on their desktop either.

Thankfully, that is set to change quite soon. A Google Community Manager on Reddit has now revealed that they’re working on making a web client available for the new Nest Cam Battery and Doorbell Battery “at a later date.”

google-nest-battery-doorbell-web-app-client
Source

No ETA has been given out though so one may have to continue relying on the Google Home app for now. If you feel the app is inadequate, feel free to give your feedback to Google using the steps given here.

Update 1 (October 19)

06:00 pm (IST): Google seems to have listened to user feedback and has finally revealed that the Home web client is expected to arrive sometime next year. Unfortunately, the vague 2022 timeline is all we get for now.

Here’s a snippet from the official blog post:

And we’ve also been working on rolling out a desktop experience for the Google Home app, so the new Nest cameras and doorbell feeds can be viewed and controlled from there. This will launch in 2022. (Source)

Therefore, we could see it anywhere between January and December. That said, we’ll post an update if and when there are any further developments.

Update 2 (August 1, 2022)

05:36 pm (IST): Although more than half a year has passed since the last acknowledgment from Google, the company is still working on offering a live video viewing experience from a web browser.

Sadly there is still no ETA for the implementation although it was expected this year.

Update 3 (October 26, 2022)

12:53 pm (IST): Finally, the wait is almost over for Google Nest users as the web interface is rolling out this week.

This week, we’ll be rolling out a Google Home update on home.google.com that lets you view your Nest camera and doorbell feeds on the web.* You can easily check in on live views in full screen, zoom in to see more details, view camera status, and more all from your web browser. Google Home for web will be available as a preview as we continue to work on improving it and adding more popular camera features.
Source

PiunikaWeb started purely as an investigative tech journalism website with a main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Fox News, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, MacRumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.

Zohaib Ahmed
824 Posts

Simply love being surrounded by technology as it's a constant reminder of how far humans have advanced as a race. Every new development feels exciting, which I convey to others through writing. And after a day's work, gaming just feels therapeutic.

Next article View Article

Google Drive not letting users play videos, throws 'allowed playbacks has been exceeded' error

Google Drive users have been dealing with an issue for years where they get an 'allowed playbacks has been exceeded' error when trying to play videos. And Google has still...
Feb 20, 2024 2 Min Read