Google’s new OnHub is a $200 Wi-Fi router and smart home hub

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ars.AD.queue.push(["xrailTop", {sz:"300x251", kws:["bottom"], collapse: true}]);Google today revealed a new smart home hub in the form of the OnHub, a $200 cylindrical router that promises a "new way to Wi-Fi." Users can control it via an app, and Google has promised frequent software updates for the device.

The device supports not only 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, but also Bluetooth 4.0 and a few smart home protocols. One such protocol is Weave, the Android team's Internet of Things (IoT) communications layer that it announced at Google I/O alongside Brillo, its Android-derived OS for IoT. It also supports Thread, an IoT wireless protocol created by Google's Nest Labs and Samsung. OnHub also offers IEEE 802.15.4, the basis for Zigbee, another IoT protocol that is popular in many devices.

Smart home communications are kind of a mess right now, so Google appears to be future-proofing the OnHub with a ton of protocol support. It is missing Z-Wave support though, which is probably the most popular smart home protocol.