Deciding which smart home display to purchase between Google's Nest Hub or Nest Hub Max should be simple, but it's not.  The latter is definitely the Nest Hub but "Max" as it is both larger and more feature-packed than the original Hub. As expected, this means there's a price increase for the Max version as well. However, this isn't a case where the more expensive edition is undoubtedly better since some of these additions could be unwanted and, potentially, frightening.

Google's Nest devices are often considered the best smart home displays because of how well they integrate with people's daily lives. Google accounts are exceedingly popular and just about anyone who uses an Android smartphone has some amount of personal information tied up with Google. The potential data risks are obvious (and do occasionally rear their heads) but the convenience is also hard to overstate. That connection and convenience are two traits Google leverages to make its smart homes perceivably more useful than its competitors', and the consumer reception is mostly positive.

Related: 10 Awesome Things You Didn't Know Your Google Home Could Do

Once smart homes evolved from being Wi-Fi-enabled speakers to being full-on assistants complete with displays, Google Nest Hub entered the scene. The now-iconic device functions like a stationary smartphone, serving many of the daily tasks typically left to mobile hardware, but with a hands-off nature that oozes convenience. Google Nest Hub, which has an MSRP of $89.99 was followed by Google Nest Hub Max ($229). The Max is larger, sports hardware upgrades like a camera and improved speakers, and of course has new features to support its added components. Deciding which is best for you home, however, means asking some complicated questions that have very little to do with retail costs or feature sets.

Google Nest Hub Max Has Problems Google Nest Hub Does Not

Concerns about the Nest Hub Max really boil down to one major component: its camera. In terms of technology, Nest Hub Max's camera is the best new feature on the device and it's well-implemented. The camera adds options like gesture control (you can pause a YouTube video by showing your palm to the camera) and video chat support with Google Duo. There are systems in place for using the camera as a home monitoring device, complete with an intercom-like, two-way chat capability. From a hardware perspective, the Nest Hub Max camera also tilts and pans to track the user during video chat. The device also uses facial recognition in smart ways to produce notifications specific to the person currently using it, which is great in households with multiple Google accounts attached to the Hub.

All of this sounds fun if you ignore the privacy concerns associated with smart home devices. Google Nest Hub (and similar devices like Amazon Echo) have been under fire for years due to the "always listening" nature of them being microphones inside people's homes, connected to the internet. An always-on camera, attached that mic and a massive collection of the owner's data, makes the proposition infinitely more worrying. The Nest Hub Max has a button that will disable the mic and camera, but Google intentionally built the device without a physical shutter. Sure, it's a little cynical to assume Google has nefarious intentions with this design, but that doesn't change how disconcerting it is for a company with a history of questionable data handling to opt-out of pointing cameras at people's households.

On a technical level, Google's Nest Hub is inferior to Nest Hub Max. The screen size difference is significant (7 in. vs. 10 in.) and the speakers on the Max are a big upgrade. The camera features add a new dimension to the product, too. If privacy is not a concern, the only other reasons to avoid a Nest Hub Max would be the simpler choices like price and whether or not there's space in your home for a larger device than the original Hub. The $140 price gap is itself greater than the price of the Nest Hub. That said, if the option to video chat or have a monitoring device in the home is enticing, Google Nest Hub Max is the way to go.

More: How to Easily Set Up a Google Home, Nest, Home Mini Hub