Gemini for Home, Google Launches in October, Offering Free and Premium Versions

The new Google voice assistant, 'Gemini for Home,' will be launched in October through an early access programme, offering free and paid tiers. It will work across all home devices, household members, and visitors, adding a glow-up for Geminis.

Plus, Google's Gemini artificial intelligence-powered voice assistant will replace Google Assistant on Nest smart speakers and displays, allowing hands-free control of smart lights, music, timers, and answering questions.

Gemini for Home Upgrades' Role

Google, despite leading in AI on mobile, has been lagging behind Amazon's Alexa Plus in home automation, as the company's smarter, LLM-powered assistant is already in millions of households.

Notably, Google's recent Gemini for Home upgrades, including new voices, conversational responses, AI-powered features for Nest cameras and automations, and a Gemini option on some speakers, were incremental hints of a new assistant, not a

complete one.

Google Home is set to introduce Gemini for Home, a new voice assistant that could be a significant change since the launch of its first smart display over six years ago.

Google Home and Nest's chief product officer, Anish Kattukaran, has announced that the Gemini for Home voice assistant will be a fundamentally new feature, leveraging advanced AI models and adapting for home use. This allows for more natural interactions for complex tasks.

Besides, Gemini for Home can respond to requests like turning off lights, playing a movie, or setting a timer and create lists, calendar entries, and reminders more easily than before, according to Kattukaran.

Gemini Live, part of Gemini for Home, will enable conversational back-and-forth voice interactions, allowing for more detailed and personalised help. This feature will be available for tasks such as cooking, car buying, dishwasher repair, and bedtime stories, allowing users to generate personalised assistance without repeatedly saying “Hey Google.”

An Up-and-Coming Smart Assistant Rival

Alexa Plus offers improved smart home control, kitchen assistance, and household problem-solving, with agentic capabilities using Thumbtack and OpenTable. Google launches Gemini for Home, putting the race for the most reliable smart home voice assistant on the line, with Apple still awaiting its arrival.

Remarkably, Google has not announced the pricing for Gemini for Home's paid tier, but Gemini Live is a potential premium plan. Amazon has bundled Alexa Plus into its Prime subscription, and Google might adopt a similar strategy and

include it in its Nest Aware or Google One packages.

Furthermore, Google plans to release Gemini for Home in October, but it's not expected to be available everywhere at once. The company uses its Google Home Public Preview programme to test new features, and has previously gated access to select users. The generative AI in smart homes requires extra caution.

Naturally, this poses the same concern for Google Home: Where is the hardware? Since 2021, Google has not updated its smart speakers or screens, with the exception of the Pixel Tablet. Gemini for Home is a significant update for Google Home, so it's probable that new hardware will be released this autumn to highlight its features.

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