There are days when our home’s Wi-Fi feels a bit crowded. One family member might be using it to take virtual meetings, while another streams their favorite show, and another downloads the latest game. And they all rely on a fast and reliable connection.

Today, we’re introducing our latest Wi-Fi system, Nest Wifi Pro, with Wi-Fi 6E technology. This new advanced mesh Wi-Fi system helps make all those home connections faster, more reliable and simpler to manage.

Faster speeds for your entire home

So what exactly is Wi-Fi 6E? As its name — 6 “Extended” — suggests, it's a big upgrade from Wi-Fi 6. While Wi-Fi 6 was built on the same heavily congested radio bands used by Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi 6E uses an entirely new (and less crowded) 6 GHz radio band. Much like driving in the fast lane on the highway, the 6 GHz band provides a faster and more direct path to the most reliable internet connection.

As a result, 6E offers speeds up to two times faster than Wi-Fi 6. The first of our Wi-Fi routers to enable 6E, Nest Wifi Pro is set up to support the next generation of phones, laptops and other devices operating on more advanced technology.

Nest Wifi Pro is built to constantly analyze your network performance and optimize your connection to keep it fast and avoid congestion. And it knows how to prioritize high-bandwidth activities like video calls and streaming.

Simple to use

It’s simple to set up your router using the Google Home app, which will show you easy step-by-step instructions to get your network up and running in minutes. The app is also the best place to monitor your network, whether you want to run speed tests, share your password or set up a guest network.

To avoid those frustrating connectivity disruptions, Nest Wifi Pro proactively scans for and diagnoses connection issues and notifies you in the app with any steps you need to take. Using Google intelligence, it can even automatically fix common problems, like recovering a lost connection.

And at no additional cost, you can better manage your kids’ connections. In the app’s Family Wi-Fi settings, you’ll find parental controls like Wi-Fi scheduling, which allows you to restrict Wi-Fi access during moments like bedtime or dinnertime, and simple ways to block unsafe content.

Safe and secure out of the box

With so many connected devices, home networks can be susceptible to unauthorized downloads and router hacks. We built safety and security measures directly into Nest Wifi Pro, at no additional cost, to help protect your connection. For example, in the Google Home app, you can see every device that’s connected to your network to help you easily identify and pause any that might look suspicious.

Automatic software updates also keep your Nest Wifi Pro running smoothly, helping protect your router and network from security threats.

Foundation of your smart home

Designed with our many Wi-Fi needs in mind, each Nest Wifi Pro can accommodate nearly every connected device in a typical home. And it has the speed and capacity to handle several high-bandwidth activities at the same time, like taking video calls while watching 4K videos and streaming your security cameras. One router has the power to cover up to 2,200 square feet alone.[01e12e]

Nest Wifi Pro also includes a built-in Thread border router so you can connect all your Thread smart devices to your home network — and save energy, thanks to Thread’s low power mesh.

Shortly after Matter, the new smart home protocol, launches, you'll be able to use your Nest Wifi Pro router as a Matter hub, too. It will control and connect to all your Matter-enabled devices, making it that much easier to manage and add devices to your smart home in the future.

Beautiful and sustainable design

Let’s face it, many Wi-Fi routers aren’t that attractive with their long antennae and blinking lights. Because of this, they’re often tucked away into a cabinet or closet, stifling their signal and performance. Nest Wifi Pro was built to fit in with your home, offering a beautiful high gloss finish inspired by ceramics.

Color was an important consideration when designing the Nest Wifi Pro. These devices are available in four, natural earth tones — Snow, Linen, Fog and Lemongrass — to inspire a tranquil environment and blend with any style. Snow is a soft cotton white that easily fits in with your other Nest products. Linen, a new neutral color to our hardware lineup, brings warmth to any room. Inspired by nature, Fog is a muted, restorative hue that matches cool-toned decor, while Lemongrass provides a burst of color and energy.

We've also considered sustainability at many levels, from how the product is made to the materials we used to build it. It’s a sustainable home networking choice, built with over 60% recycled materials based on product weight.

Nest Wifi Pro retails at $399.99 for a three pack, covering up to 6,600 square feet. It’s also available at $299.99 for a two pack or $199.99 for a one pack to accommodate homes of all sizes. It will be available online and in stores October 27, with pre-orders beginning October 4.

Many of us can rest better when we know what’s happening both inside and outside our homes. So today, we’re introducing the all-new Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen) — with smarter and easier-to-manage features to help bring you more peace of mind. Here’s what you can expect.

Wired and always on

With this new addition, there's now a Nest Doorbell for everyone. While Nest Doorbell (battery) offers a lot of versatility, we know people with compatible set-ups may want the reliability of a wired doorbell — so you never have to worry about charging a battery or running out of power. And if your Wi-Fi is spotty one day, you still won’t miss any important moments. The new Nest Doorbell will automatically record an hour’s worth of important events to its local memory.

You’ll also get three hours of event video history at no extra charge, with clips up to five minutes long, allowing you to easily rewind to key points of activity. If you choose to upgrade to a Nest Aware Plus subscription, you’ll get an industry-leading 10 days of 24/7 continuous video history so you can always keep an eye on what’s happening at home, even if you’re away.

Our clearest image yet

We’ve spent a lot of time fine-tuning the image and making updates to ensure you get the best picture, right out of the box.

We’ve tested the doorbell in as many conditions as possible — from the darkest, rainiest nights to the sunniest, brightest days — to make sure that no matter what, you’re getting a natural picture. Through meticulous image tuning, we’ve eliminated the distorted fish-eye effect you often see with smart cameras, while HDR helps capture details in areas with shadows or bright lights.

DXOMark, the international leader in quality assessment of smartphone image, display, audio and battery, and other consumer electronics, tested eight doorbells across the industry and says: “The Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd-gen) is the best camera doorbell we have tested so far in terms of image quality, with a high level of detail and accurate exposure, allowing you to easily recognize whoever is at the door, even at night.”

Smart alerts and flexible control

Just like our other Nest cameras and doorbell, the new Nest Doorbell has smart features built right in. It can process what it sees on-device, giving you more relevant notifications and added privacy and security.

With the help of built-in machine learning, it can do things like tell the difference between people, packages, pets and vehicles and keep an eye on specific areas of your front porch using Activity Zones. With the “talk and listen” feature, you can also chat with visitors at the door from anywhere, or respond quickly with pre-recorded messages.

The new Nest Doorbell works with your existing chime, or you can connect it to a Nest speaker or display to simply alert you when your doorbell is pressed. With the optional Nest Aware subscription, this Nest Doorbell can even detect and notify you when it sees familiar or unfamiliar faces.

Built for the Google Home app

Our new wired doorbell is built to work easily with the Google Home app, where you can see and control all your cameras. Soon, we’ll release an update on home.google.com that lets you view all your Nest camera and doorbell feeds on the web.

And now, you can set up a Household Routine on the app to customize how your doorbell works. For example, when your doorbell is pressed, automatically turn on your porch lights from sunset to sunrise.

We’re also working on bringing the best of the Nest and Google Home apps together. Learn more about upcoming features and what to expect in the coming weeks.

Design inspired by your surroundings

Many smart home devices can look out of place. We’ve been purposeful about designing a doorbell that is simple, elegant and beautifully complements your home.

Right away, you’ll notice it has a smaller footprint than the battery-powered doorbell — it’s around 30% smaller — so it can easily fit within narrow door frames and tight spaces.

The new doorbell can fit in or stand out, with four colors — Snow, Linen, Ash and Ivy — designed to complement different architectural styles or nature by your entryway.

And to continue making our hardware products more sustainable, we've built the Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen) using around 43% recycled materials, based on product weight.

The new Nest Doorbell is designed to be hardwired with your pre-existing doorbell wires, and if you’re upgrading your first generation Nest Doorbell, it matches the same drill holes to make installation a breeze. Check if your home is compatible in our Help Center. You can also find step-by-step instructions in the Google Home app.

Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen) is available in the U.S. starting today for $179.99. It’s also available in Canada today for $239.99 CAD in the Snow and Ash colors.

Last year we launched an early preview of Nest Renew, a service for compatible Nest thermostats that makes it easy to support a clean energy future from home. We’re excited to announce that starting today, anyone in the continental U.S. with a compatible Nest thermostat can now join Nest Renew.

Support clean energy already on the grid

One of our primary goals during the development of Nest Renew was helping people make better use of clean energy that’s already on the grid. That’s the thinking behind powerful new features like Energy Shift, which helps you automatically prioritize your usage to times when your home’s electricity is cleaner or less expensive. Every five minutes, Energy Shift gathers local power grid emissions forecasts across the country. Then, using these forecasts, our algorithms look for opportunities where running a home’s heating or cooling slightly earlier or later would result in taking advantage of cleaner energy, and automatically adjust your thermostat accordingly. This is all done with very small changes from scheduled temperatures (generally less than one degree Fahrenheit). The changes are so subtle that you won’t notice and will stay just as comfortable, but of course, you are in control and can manually adjust your thermostat at any time.

And small actions through features like Energy Shift really do add up — we estimate that it’s already helped Nest Renew users in early preview collectively prioritize cleaner energy usage for over 20,000,000 hours.

Start making an impact today

Anyone in the continental U.S. with a 3rd generation Nest Learning Thermostat, the Nest Thermostat E or the newest Nest Thermostat connected to a Google account can now join Nest Renew for free and start making better use of clean energy in their area with Energy Shift. If you want to extend your impact even further, you can upgrade to Nest Renew Premium for only $10 a month, which matches the fossil fuel electricity used in your home with enough clean energy to cover the average U.S. household with high-quality renewable energy credits generated from projects within Google’s own clean energy portfolio.

Users can also access features like impact reports and the Energy Impact Program, which lets you help direct Nest Renew funds to nonprofit partners working toward an equitable sustainable future, to see your efforts in action. Because when we each do a little, it adds up to a lot.

When you think of a doorbell, a particular sound probably comes to mind — for me, it’s the classic “ding dong.” When we launched Nest Doorbell (wired) in 2018, formerly known as Nest Hello, we introduced a new take on the quintessential doorbell sound with a single chime. And it got us thinking — what if we created even more options? And ones that would add a bit more magic around the house?

So we started creating doorbell ringtones you can download seasonally through the Google Home app, like a ghost or witch’s voice for Halloween or a beloved carol for Christmas. There are also options available year-round, like everyday chimes and a birthday tune.

This year, we’re adding even more to our seasonal collection, with ringtones for Lunar New Year, Diwali and other global celebrations coming soon. A new ringtone for Oktoberfest is up next, which will be available from September 5 to October 5.

But how exactly do you create a doorbell ringtone? As an audio designer on the Google Nest team, it’s my job to figure that out. Today, I’m taking you behind the scenes to show you exactly how I do it — from researching different sounds to composing the final ringtone you download in your Google Home app.

Hit the right note

A lot of teams work together to decide new doorbell ringtone themes for the year. Our goal is always to create themes that are inclusive, meaningful and entertaining to people around the world.

To do that, there are a few factors we need to consider. First off, ringtones need to be pretty short — our rule is no more than 10 seconds — so your visitors don’t get impatient waiting at the door. And to be universally accessible and understandable, they can’t have any speech or lyrics. We can also only use musical pieces that are either original compositions or in the public domain (meaning, they were composed before 1926).

From there, we typically design ringtones in one of two ways. We either base it off a short musical riff, like “Jingle Bells” for Christmas. Or, if there aren’t many musical options for the occasion, we’ll create a version of the “ding-dong” sound with a sound effect. For example, in our Thanksgiving ringtone, you’ll hear the traditional “ding dong” followed by a turkey gobble.

Put a ring on it

Once we’ve landed on a moment and overall design, we’re ready to create our ringtone. Let’s take a look at how we made the new one for Oktoberfest.

The first step? Research. I listened to and analyzed the musical arrangements and styles of a variety of traditional polka songs.

Then, I composed a simple, original melody on the piano (at a rather slow tempo), along with separate harmony and bass lines. Using audio production software, I replaced each of the piano tracks with a digital sample of a traditional German accordion, and sped up the tempo so it was doorbell-friendly.

In some cases, like the Oktoberfest ringtone, I can use traditional instruments. Other ringtones require some more… creative solutions. Take the Thanksgiving ringtone. Because many recordings of turkey gobbles aren’t very clear (real turkey sounds are pretty muddy and outdoor sounds mixed in can make them even harder to hear), I recorded them using my own voice. I now know way too much about the intricacies of a turkey gobble.

Once I compose, edit (and edit some more), I share the ringtone with different teams for feedback and test how it sounds on the Nest doorbell speaker. After making any final changes, we name the ringtone and post it so people can easily download it from the Google Home app.

Since we started creating these doorbell ringtones, they’ve been a nice surprise for Nest users and a fun project for our team. There are a lot more ringtones in the works, so keep an eye out for announcements. In the meantime, I hope this new ringtone whisks you away, even just for a moment, to an Oktoberfest celebration somewhere in Germany!