Biggest Google Home Upgrade In Years Is Coming

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Google has been talking up Gemini on phones for months, but now it’s finally coming to your home, and it’s more than just a rebrand.

Gemini for Home is a full-on replacement for Google Assistant on Nest speakers and displays, with an early access rollout starting in October.

Back in May, at I/O 2025, the search giant revealed that it would be baking in Gemini AI into the Home APIs that developers use to build their own apps and devices, meaning third-party developers would be able to bring Gemini-powered features such as AI security camera summaries, natural-language routines, and proactive automation suggestions into their own smart home apps.

Gemini-powered experiences have also been showing up in public preview on Nest Audio and Nest Mini speakers for some users with a Nest Aware subscription, offering deeper context and more natural back-and-forth control.

But Gemini for Home is the official nail in the Google Assistant’s coffin for the smart home.

Free and paid tiers are planned, though Google hasn’t yet said what the premium plan will cost.

You’ll still start commands with the classic “Hey Google,” prompt, but we’re told that interactions will feel “fundamentally new.”

Instead of rigid commands, Gemini will be able to handle nuanced requests, reasoning its way through trickier tasks.

For example, if you ask it to “turn off the lights everywhere except the kitchen,” or to “play that song from the 90s about Barbie,” and it should be able to understand.

The digital voice assistant will also be stepping up as a household organizer, with shopping lists, calendar events, and kitchen timers all getting smarter.

You can tell Gemini to “add the ingredients for an authentic Italian ravioli” to your list, “set a timer for a medium hard boiled egg” or even ask when the best time is to visit the Greek islands and it will provide much more useful assistance.

Gemini Live will also be part of the offering, which takes things up another notch. You kick it off with “Hey Google, let’s chat,” and then you’ll get a back-and-forth conversation without having to keep repeating the wake phrase.

It’s designed for deeper, more natural exchanges, whether that’s cooking with whatever’s in your fridge, troubleshooting why the dishwasher won’t drain, or spinning up a personalized bedtime story.

For Google, the timing matters. The tech giant has been under fire on the smart home front for the past few months, with services throwing up a barrage of issues and no new hardware in years.

Add to the mix that Amazon already pushed Alexa into the generative AI era with Alexa Plus, which it’s currently rolling out.

Gemini for Home is, therefore, Google’s weapon in the next-gen voice assistant battle but, while it brings better smart home control, media discovery, and creative help, there’s still the question of hardware.

Google hasn’t refreshed its Nest speakers or displays in nearly five years and, even though we’re told “Gemini for Home will replace Google Assistant on existing speakers and displays,” a big upgrade like this is crying out for new devices to showcase it.

Google looks to have already teased one such device: during the company’s Made by Google event earlier this week, F1 driver Lando Norris was talking to a smart speaker which definitely wasn’t one of the current Google or Nest line up.

With Google looking to be finally making a serious comeback in the space, a revamped Siri also set to launch – potentially with new Apple smart home hardware – and the AI supercharged Alexa+ already rolling out, it’s going to be fascinating to see how the evolution of the smart home revolution plays out in the next couple of years.