Starling Home Hub Adds Newest Nest Cameras to HomeKit

Starling Home Hub continues to improve. Among the latest updates was the addition of AirPlay support to Nest Speakers. More recently, manufacturers have added support for the newest generation of Nest cameras to HomeKit. It is both good and bad. On the one hand, you can use the latest devices possible. On the other hand, this innovation may force you to abandon Google Home.

On their own, these cameras are a great addition to any smart home, but the complexity starts with other interactions. First of all, they are related to the Home application itself and its sloppy interface, which complicates the configuration and use of advanced features. So, for example, in settings, you can find both information about the device itself and customize the notification system depending on what gets into the camera lens. The battery settings themselves are nothing special. You can only see the charge percentage and activate the power-saving mode.

In general, users of various devices in the Apple ecosystem should completely abandon Google Home. The point is, you cannot access the next-generation cameras through the previous portal that you usually use. Thus, you have no convenient way to control cameras from your laptop. Considering that the Home app also doesn't manage Nest Secure, you'll have to use two different services.

A logical solution to this problem would be Homebridge, with which you could partially recreate the functionality of Starling Home Hub. However, it is not currently possible as it does not support 2021 cameras. The new Starling Home Hub firmware allows these devices to be added to Apple's HomeKit. This way, you can automate many processes and monitor them from the Home app.

How do you feel about these changes? Do you have 2021 Nest cameras, or are you planning on purchasing them?