Gemini for Home is Google's new AI that takes over from Google Assistant on your smart displays and speakers. It also upgrades your cameras, doorbells, and the Google Home app. Basically, if you have a Google smart home device from the last ten years, this update is coming your way.
So what's actually changing? Starting this month, Gemini will start to replace Google Assistant on your speakers and smart displays. The basic upgrade is free. Now you can ask follow-up questions without repeating yourself, say things like 'play the song from that asteroid movie,' or give more complicated commands like 'turn off all the lights except the office.'
If you want the fancy stuff, you'll need Google Home Premium, which costs $10 a month. That gets you things like Gemini Live for longer conversations, cameras that actually tell you what's happening instead of just saying 'motion detected,' daily summaries of your camera footage, and the ability to search your video history by just describing what you want. You can even set up automations just by saying what you want to happen. If you want to try it, open the Google Home app, tap your profile, go to Home settings, and look for Early access.
Why does this matter? If you have Google smart home devices, your voice assistant is about to change, whether you like it or not. The free upgrade finally fixes the old problem of having to remember the exact words to say. The premium features, like smarter cameras and easy automations, sound great, but they cost $120 a year. Nobody really knows yet if they're worth it. Try out the free stuff now, but maybe hold off on paying for Premium until people have had a chance to see if it's actually any good.
