Just a day after Amazon unleashed a barrage of smart home and consumer electronics devices powered by the Alexa+ assistant, Google has made its own chess move. The company has today revealed a fresh slate of devices in the Home and Nest family, tagging alongside a revamped companion app and a new subscription service that replaces Google Assistant with Gemini on these devices.
The big reveal
The fresh slate of smart home hardware from Google includes the Nest Cam Indoor (3rd gen), Nest Cam Outdoor (2nd gen), and Nest Doorbell (3rd gen). Additionally, in partnership with Walmart, Google is also adding the onn Indoor Camera Wired and onn Video Doorbell Wired to its portfolio of smart home devices.
The big highlight is support for 2K HDR video capture, and the “widest and tallest field of view” ever on a Google smart home camera, reaching up to 166 degrees. The new camera sensor also boosts low-light color visibility, while on the software side, you get new tricks such as digital zoom-in and intelligent alerts that can identify a variety of subjects, such as cars, pets, and people.
Then we have the new Google Home Speaker. Instead of dots, it now features a light ring (similar to the HomePod mini) and the ability to pair two units of the speaker for achieving a surround sound experience. It can also be connected with older Home and Nest speakers for stereo setups.
The Nest series cameras start at $99.99, while the onn Indoor Camera Wired model will set you back $19.99 in the US. The Google Home speaker, priced at $99, will hit the shelves early next year in Porcelain, Hazel, Jade, and Berry colors.
A whole new home assistant
Aside from fresh hardware, the biggest change is the underlying software. The ecosystem is moving away from Google Assistant and shifting to Gemini, for everything from direct device interactions to the companion app. “We’re beginning to roll out this month in early access,” says Google, adding that the entire companion app will also be redesigned with new conversational capabilities to control smart home devices.
Google is referring to this new avatar as Gemini for Home. Just in case you are wondering, the app is still compatible with older Nest cameras, doorbells, thermostats, and locks. The best part about the Gemini upgrade is that smart home controls go from clunky shortcuts and automations to natural language conversations, just the way you would engage with an AI chatbot.
This not only applies to controlling devices in real-time, but also to creating multi-device automations by simply describing them. Gemini for Home will be available across speaker, smart display, camera, and doorbell hardware, with an early access program kicking off later this month.
Google is also replacing the Nest Aware subscription with Gemini for Home, which includes Standard Plan ($10/month or $100/year) and an Advanced Plan ($20/month or $200/year). The Advanced tier brings benefits such as AI event descriptions, Home Brief summaries, and searchable video history with Ask Home. For existing Gemini subscribers, these plans will be available without any additional costs.
