Way back in October of 2019, Google announced a feature called "Ambient IQ." This is not to be confused with Ambient EQ, but it is a similar concept. While Ambient EQ is about color temperature, Ambient IQ is all about volume. The feature looks to finally be on its way to the Google Nest speakers.

Ambient EQ intelligently adjusts the color temperature of the display on the Nest Hub, Nest Hub Max, and Pixel 4, based on the surrounding lighting conditions. Similarly, Ambient IQ can adjust the volume when outside noise interferes. For example, you may be listening to a podcast while getting dressed and your hairdryer drowns out the speaker. Rather than manually adjusting the volume yourself, Ambient IQ will do it for you.

One important thing to note is Ambient IQ is only for spoken audio content such as podcasts, audiobooks, and news. Music is not supported as Google says people enjoy music in a variety of ways, not always in the forefront. People like to use music as background noise, but spoken audio, such as a podcast, is usually listened to with more focus. The new support page for Ambient IQ lists the Nest Mini, Nest Hub, Nest Hub Max, and Nest Wifi as devices that can use the feature.

We're not sure if this feature is rolling out right now or coming soon, but when it's available you won't have to do anything to make it work. I tested it on a Nest Mini and it didn't seem to work yet. Do you think this is a useful feature for smart speakers?


Via: Android Police