Google has made a small but very significant change for anyone who has taken to calling their Nest Hub or Nest smart display regularly. The simplicity that was once available for the house using the one-tap “Call Home” option is now gone, complicating a process that used to be as simple as checking in, chatting with the kids, or sending quick reminders. This change has forced users to begin looking for some different methods of communicating with devices that they have come to rely on every day.

Removing Leads Users to Other Communication Less Seamless Options

Instead of the easy shortcut, users must now rely on alternatives such as Google Meet or standard phone calls, routed through more complicated steps. A previously one-tap function now requires multiple screens and app navigation. For busy households, unnecessary frictions are added by this in everyday communications. The simplicity of nest devices, particularly in the case of families with children or elderly relatives in residence, feels reduced by the increased layers required to make a simple call.

Removal of User-Friendly Householder Changes on Nest Smart Display

It is not even just the removal of the feature that disturbed many people; Google is quite a secretive house. The company quietly jetisoned the option, and not many people discovered it until they went to try and use it. Smart home devices are meant to be pretty much interactive, intuitive use, and such removals can take all of the sudden routine transformations built around them. Without warning or transition period, users are suddenly in this new, less convenient reality that requires adjusting on the fly.

Users Voice Speculations Over the Long-Term Outlook of Google on Smart Home

This implies bigger questions on how Google’s smart home becomes. Some believe the tech giant may be consolidating talk-based features under Google Meet. Others whimsically opine that restructuring internally around Google Home could influence which features go and which stay. Change, though, indicates that Google is changing the experience of how users are expected to interact with Nest displays. Like other features changing, some users speculate whether convenience or cross-service unification has become the new priority of Google.

Workarounds Aren’t as Straightforward or Intuitive

The straightforward “Call Home” button may be lost, but users can still initiate calls using the Google Home app or through voice commands. Neither, however, comes close to achieving the seamless experience that families had before. Voice commands depend on the correct response from the recipient device, and methods involving apps take more time, plus may confuse less tech-savvy users. They work, but they demonstrate exactly why the simple shortcut was so appreciated.

Communities Petition Google for the Restoration of the Feature for Household Use

Users are demanding back the convenient call option from Google in various online forums and social media. Such people believe that something designed for quick access should never require multiple steps or technical workarounds. Whether or not Google will listen is not known, but the reaction anyway indicates how very small features can end up being a big part of a user’s daily life.

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News Source: PCmag.com