
That said, the Orbi Voice has a two-port ethernet switch, which makes it the better choice for advanced users. But that’s important only if you have the infrastructure to take advantage of it, and most homes don’t.

That means it can’t use hardwired ethernet for data backhaul. The Nest Wifi Point, however, doesn’t have any ethernet ports. Higher-end routers typically have a four-port ethernet switch, but truth be told, that’s usually not adequate for advanced home networks, either. The Nest Wifi router has just one LAN port available (the other is a WAN port that you’ll use to connect the router to your broadband gateway), so you’ll need to buy an ethernet switch if you have more than one device that must be hardwired to your network. Thread is a low-power mesh networking technology originally spearheaded by Nest Labs, but now supported by a broad spectrum of companies involved in developing Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
#Google nest router ethernet ports Bluetooth
īoth the Nest Wifi router and the Nest Wifi Point are equipped with Bluetooth LE and Thread radios for smart home connectivity, but the Bluetooth radio in the router is currently dormant, and the Thread radio is dormant in both devices. In other words, data can travel directly back and forth between the router and a given satellite, or it can hop back and forth from one satellite to another. I’ll get into audio later for now, the most important thing to know about the Nest Wifi is that it’s a Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) mesh networking system that supports both star and daisy-chain mesh topologies. The Point, which is slightly smaller than the router, is both a Wi-Fi access point and a Google Home smart speaker that’s roughly equivalent in audio performance to a Nest Home Mini. The $269 system Google sent for this review consists of a Nest Wifi router ($169 if purchased solo) and a single Nest Wifi Point ($149 if purchased separately).

It’s also a far superior loudspeaker, although not necessarily a better smart speaker again, that depends on your digital assistant preference. But if money is less of an issue and you haven’t committed to either digital assistant, Netgear’s product delivers much higher performance at distance. If you’re all in on Google’s ecosystem and prefer Google Assistant, the Orbi Voice’s Amazon Alexa delivery won’t float your boat.

But there is more to consider than just price tags. The savings will continue should you decide to expand your network down the road, since each Nest Point (Google’s name for its access points) will cost $149 compared to $200 for each additional Orbi Voice satellite.
#Google nest router ethernet ports plus
A two-node system (the router plus one access point) costs $269, compared to $350 for Netgear’s RBK50V kit. But if you don’t need the very high performance that Netgear’s high-end mesh networks deliver, Nest Wifi will save you some cash. Netgear did it better with last year’s Orbi Voice. Google’s Nest Wifi isn’t breaking new ground by melding a smart speaker with a Wi-Fi access point.
