Google LLC has officially refreshed its smart home ecosystem, announcing a suite of new hardware alongside the ambitious debut of Gemini for Home. This powerful new artificial intelligence assistant is poised to replace the existing Google Assistant, bringing a significant shift in how millions of European households interact with their technology. Crucially, Gemini for Home is slated for seamless integration not just into the new devices, but also across virtually every smart speaker, display, camera, and doorbell the Alphabet Inc. subsidiary has shipped over the last decade.

The core promise of Gemini for Home lies in its ability to understand vague, human context, moving the digital assistant experience from a rigid command structure to a fluid conversation. For instance, a user will no longer need to recall the precise title or artist for a piece of content, but can simply describe the memory or the plot to initiate a search. This advanced comprehension extends to home automation, allowing users to issue generalized commands like “turn on the porch lights” without needing to specify every device involved.

Anish Kattukaran, Chief Product Officer for Google Home and Nest, emphasized this transformation, stating the new AI “transforms a rigid search into a fluid conversation.” This focus on seamless interaction addresses a key concern for European consumers who demand intuitive, non technical interfaces. Further enhancing this fluency, Google introduced Gemini Live, a feature that eliminates the requirement for a wake word. This capability facilitates genuine, free flowing interactions and follow up requests that can span multiple prompts, creating an experience closer to true ambient computing. The service is also supported by ten new voices designed to personalize the experience.

New Hardware Fortifies the Ecosystem

The Gemini launch is paired with a strategic hardware refresh. The Google Home Speaker, a spherical device priced at $99.99 (expected to translate closely in Euro markets), features 360 degree audio for superior, more realistic sound quality. Its inclusion of a distinctive light ring that changes color based on the AI task suggests powerful, custom AI processing capabilities, possibly enabled by a bespoke internal chip.

For home security, Google debuted three new Nest cameras (ranging from $99.99 to $179.99) covering indoor, outdoor, and doorbell applications. All three record in high resolution 2K HDR footage, boast a bigger field of view than previous models, and deliver significantly better performance in low light conditions a crucial factor for reliable surveillance across the continent’s diverse climates and cityscapes.

These new cameras fully utilize the AI capabilities of Gemini for Home. New features include Home Brief, which automatically generates video summaries of events, and a powerful natural language search function allowing users to find specific moments, such as the delivery of a parcel, using simple spoken prompts.

Several of these advanced features, including Gemini Live and Home Brief, are reserved for a new subscription service, Google Home Premium, available for $10 per month or €100 per year. For existing power users, the subscription is offered free to customers already utilizing the Pro and Ultra tiers of Google AI. The Gemini for Home rollout begins later this month via an early access program for existing devices, while the new cameras are available immediately and the Google Home Speaker is expected next spring.