Google has announced a significant update to its smart home ecosystem with the introduction of Gemini for Home. This new artificial intelligence model will replace the existing Google Assistant on speakers and displays, enhance camera capabilities, and integrate with over 800 million third-party devices through an updated Google Home platform.
Key Takeaways
- Google is replacing Google Assistant with its more advanced Gemini AI model in its smart home products.
- The update automatically brings new conversational AI features to more than 800 million existing devices in the "Works with Google Home" program.
- A new program has been launched to help partners build advanced AI-powered cameras that integrate deeply with the Google Home ecosystem.
- Walmart is the first partner in the new camera program, releasing an affordable indoor camera and video doorbell under its onn brand.
A Foundational Shift for Google Home
Google is rolling out Gemini for Home, a move the company describes as a foundational shift in its approach to home AI. This update replaces the long-standing Google Assistant, aiming to provide more natural and complex interactions with smart home devices.
The transition is designed to be seamless for users. According to Google, the core conversational benefits of Gemini will be extended to all devices currently part of the "Works with Google Home" program. This ecosystem currently includes over 800 million connected devices from various manufacturers.
This means users will be able to control their existing smart lights, thermostats, and other connected hardware using more natural language and create complex automations without needing new hardware. The update is being delivered through the Google Home platform, which encompasses speakers, smart displays, and the Google Home mobile application.
Background: From Assistant to Gemini
The Google Assistant was first introduced in 2016 as a personal AI assistant. Gemini represents Google's next-generation multimodal AI model, capable of understanding and processing text, images, and audio more effectively. This integration into the home is part of a broader company strategy to embed Gemini across all its major products.
Developer Integration and Testing
While Google states that developers do not need to perform additional work to enable the core conversational features on their products, the company is emphasizing the need for immediate and robust testing. The success of the Gemini-powered home depends on the reliability of each integrated device.
Google has issued a call to the tens of thousands of developers in its ecosystem to begin testing their existing "Works with Google Home" integrations. The goal is to ensure that devices perform reliably with the new, more complex conversational capabilities introduced by Gemini.
To support this effort, Google announced that it will provide improved data and tools later this year. These resources are intended to help developers monitor the performance and reliability of their devices within the Google Home ecosystem, ensuring a consistent user experience across all brands.
New Program for AI Camera Partners
A major component of the Gemini for Home strategy is a new program designed specifically for camera manufacturers. Google aims to expand beyond its own Nest camera line and enable partners to build the next generation of AI-powered cameras at various price points.
Split Compute Model Explained
The new camera architecture uses a split compute model. On-device machine learning (ML) processes video locally to identify key moments and generate metadata. This information is then sent to Google's cloud, which prioritizes it along with the video event for advanced features like Gemini-powered AI descriptions of what the camera saw.
This initiative is more than a set of guidelines; it's a complete toolkit for hardware partners. It includes:
- A new hardware reference design: This provides recommendations for System on Chips (SoCs), image sensors, and other components from an approved vendor list.
- Google Home camera embedded SDK: A new software development kit that enables a powerful on-device machine learning framework. This SDK is common across both Nest and partner devices.
This new framework allows partner cameras to offer more than just a live video stream. They can now deeply integrate with Google's intelligence cloud, enabling features like event history and AI-generated event descriptions, which were previously limited to Nest products.
Walmart Launches First Partner Cameras
Google has announced that its first partner in this new camera program is Walmart. The retailer is launching two new devices: the onn Indoor Camera Wired and the onn Video Doorbell Wired.
These products are designed to be affordable while offering powerful features, including up to 1080p live view resolution and intelligent alerts. Because they are powered by the new Google Home platform, they will give users access to the advanced camera understanding features enabled by Gemini.
"We believe the power of Gemini for Home shouldn't be limited to just one brand, form factor or price point. So to bring the power of Gemini to everyone, we are taking our 'Works with Google Home' promise to the next level by expanding our platform with a new class of partner devices to offer customers more choice."
Users of the new onn cameras will be able to interact with them through the entire Google Home ecosystem. This includes viewing live feeds and receiving alerts on Google speakers, smart displays, phones, tablets, watches, and TVs. This level of integration represents a significant step forward for third-party devices in Google's smart home environment.
Google's strategy with Gemini for Home is to create a more unified and intelligent ecosystem where devices from any manufacturer can work together seamlessly, all powered by a central AI. The company is positioning Google Home as the primary platform for developers looking to build AI-driven experiences for the home.