A new chapter for Google Home & Nest

[AnishKattukaran]

Hey folks,

Anish here, I lead the product teams for Google Home & Nest.

I want to start by saying thank you for being on this journey with us, especially as we kick off a new era for the smart home! We have our biggest update in years and I wanted to share it with you directly.

Today marks the start of a new chapter for us. Today, we talked about Gemini for Home, Google Home Premium, two new Cameras, a new doorbell, a reimagined Google Home app, and a first look at our new upcoming speaker and new partner devices. The blog posts have all of the details:

• Welcome to the next era of Google Home

• Gemini for Home: The helpful home gets an AI upgrade. A new AI, Gemini for Home, which replaces the Google Assistant and is far more capable

• A new Google Home app, redesigned for Gemini. Now faster, more reliable, and complete with all of your older Nest devices. It's been redesigned to be simpler and more fluid, and we've infused it with the power of Gemini.

• Our newest Google Home devices are built for Gemini.

• We’re introducing the new Google Home Premium subscription plus new benefits for AI Pro and Ultra su...

As we begin this next era of Google Home, we know that building a truly helpful home is a long-term commitment. That’s why we’re bringing Gemini for Home to every speaker, smart display, camera and doorbell we’ve made in the last decade, along with the new Google Home app. It will be available via an early access program because we want you to try all of these new features and continue giving us feedback as we work to perfect the experience. The early access rollout for these devices will begin this month (with speakers and smart displays starting towards the end of the month).

We know our journey with you hasn't always been smooth, and frankly, we haven't always gotten it right. We are committed to earning back your trust, and improving the products with you.

-Anish

P.S. For more updates you can follow me on https://x.com/AnishKattukaran or Threads https://www.threads.com/@anishk

[cruzan]

How do I enroll in Early Access? I only see Public Preview under Home settings

[GoogleNestTeam]

Hey @cruzan,

The early access program is rolling out starting today. To sign up for the early access program, use the Google Home app (version 4.0+): go to your profile icon, select Home settings, and then select early access to enroll. You’ll be notified in the app when you have access.

[The_WB]

I only see public preview under my profile icon in my 4.0 app. Where exactly is the early access? Link to docs with pictures to compare available???

[Erniem64]

How about a combined subscription plan that includes google one

[GoogleNestTeam]

Hey @Erniem64,

This is available! We’re introducing the new Google Home Premium subscription plus new benefits for AI Pro and Ultra subscribers. You can see this Keyword blog article for more info.

[Erniem64]

But it doesn't mention storage plans that you get with a Google one subscription 

[Erniem64]

Ok got it now, but to get the Google home advanced, I need to upgraded to the AI advanced which is a significant increase in price.

[boogieman81]

Can we disable Gemini for our Nest Aware subscriptions since I don't want your crappy AS(artificial stupid), aka Gemini AI, near my Nest devices?

[GoogleNestTeam]

Hey @boogieman81,

Users will have to opt-in to enable the Gemini for Home features. If you have already opted in and would like to turn off the Gemini for Home camera features, you can see this help center article for steps to do so.

[KenVives]

Does the new Gemini integration allow us to trigger events based on camera events like the old IFTTT integration? Like “if a person is detected on the doorbell and it is dark out, turn on the porch lights”?

[amirhdegooglr]

is there any way to opt out of this crap on my speaker?? I don't want any of this AI slop on my nest hub 2.

[timon13337]

Hello, I just received the update. Finally 😄 

I enrolled in the Public Preview Program from the start and have been waiting for the update forever.

Even before October 1st, I already realized that the Google Home icon had been updated. On the same day, I also saw the new Google Home Premium subscriptions inside the old UI. I thought it was weird that it was already in there, but I claimed the 30-day trial anyway. 

Then, after waiting, refreshing the app, checking for updates in the Play Store multiple times, I finally saw the "Experimental AI Features" toggle in the Public Preview section. When I tried to turn it on, it always switched to ON for a second before it switched itself back OFF. 

After all that, I decided to just wait a while or contact the support if necessary. A couple of hours passed, and after I came back home, my Google Home App was finally updated with the new UI.

I'm happy that all the waiting, checking for updates & searching the Internet is now over. 

Unfortunately though, even with the new Google Home app update, Google Home Premium Advanced Subscription (trial), and also a Google Cloud AI Pro 2TB Subscription, none of my Google Nest Mini (2nd Gen) speakers or my Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) have Gemini yet, they're still using Google Assistant. 

Can you tell me if my devices will get updated soon, maybe even tonight, or in the next few days, or do I have to wait until it becomes available in my country (Germany)?

Because if my devices don't get updated, I feel like my Google Home Premium Advanced trial would be wasted, since I don't even use something like a Nest Camera, and it doesn't give me any new features, which I would like to try out when it's also available on my devices.

Maybe it's important to note that even though I live in Germany, I changed all my language settings to English(United States), but it still won't work 😞

I hope you have an answer to my question, so I can try Gemini on my devices soon. 

Also, I wish you a great day/evening (whatever time it is for you) 🙂

[The_WB]

For all the hubbub about this they are making it ridiculously hard to turn on. I still don't have it on my minis and can't even find anything other than the "preview" option on my settings, nothing about Gemini and nothing labelled early access on any screen. Seems kind of like a botched roll out.

[SmartHomeH-TAGS]

@The_WB  It's in "Rollout". I live in Australia and have this on my settings page.

I'm not pushing it until I really have to. The "new" Automation Editor was no use to me at all. I couldn't save any new basic automations.

"Early access" to me indicates that it's almost ready for release, but still has some bugs.

 

[The_WB]

First time I've seen a picture of what to look for. Not on mine. App is current, they moved stuff around on front screen. Just no option yet.

[Jacky_folf]

Just don't touch my nest mini. You guys already en**bleep**ified the original assistant that used to work so perfectly, I don't need gemini to destroy it completely. 

[benhero]

I'm on the 2TB Pro AI plan with Google One. It looks like Home Premium is now included. Does the Home Premium extend to those my family plan? One of them is currently on Nest Aware. Can they cancel and get Home Premium through family share for free?

[JustinBro]

How do I roll the app back? Half of my screen is filled with some stupid drawn character instead of the devices I want to control.

[ha9659156]

yes good