Google’s Pixel Tablet can now show you when someone is ringing your Nest doorbell

The Google Pixel Tablet is getting an update that will make it a little more useful as a smart home device. On a blog post published todayGoogle said the $400 Pixel Tablet can now pull a live feed from a Nest video doorbell to show you who’s at the front door and give you the option to talk to them or send a quick response.

The resource – which was first teased this summer – works with all Nest doorbells, including the first and second generation wired versions and the battery-powered Nest Doorbell, and is part of the Google Home public preview. The tablet needs to be locked and docked into the charging speaker base to show a full screen view.

Considering that Google Nest Hub smart displays have had the ability to announce visitors and get a live doorbell preview for years, its omission when the Pixel Tablet launched last year was disconcerting. But it was in line with the way Google presented its new tablet for home use, being decidedly not a smart display.

I was also sad that Google didn’t give the 11-inch tablet the option of an always-on smart home control screen, like Amazon did with the Echo Hub. Instead we got a shortcut to a “home panel”With a complicated interface.

But with this new update, at least some of the missing features are here. And who knows? Perhaps the update is an indication that a second generation Pixel Tablet is in development, and perhaps it’s everything the first generation isn’t, at least when it comes to the smart home.