Google LLC today refreshed its smart home portfolio with several new devices and an artificial intelligence assistant called Gemini for Home.

Gemini for Home is set to replace Google Assistant in the company’s smart home devices. It will be available in not only the new gadgets the Alphabet Inc. unit debuted today but also every smart speaker, display, camera and doorbell it shipped in the past decade.

Gemini for Home requires less specific prompts than Google Assistant. For example, a user could ask it to turn on the porch lights without specifying each smart light bulb that should be activated. When it’s used for content search, the software can find the title of a film based on a brief plot summary.

“For media, Gemini transforms a rigid search into a fluid conversation because it understands vague, human context,” Anish Kattukaran, chief product officer for Google Home and Nest, wrote in a blog post today. “Instead of remembering the exact song or artist, you can describe what you’re thinking of, just like you would to a friend.”

Gemini for Home also introduces other improvements. Google has added 10 new voices and a feature called Gemini Live that removes the need to start every prompt with a wake word. According to the company, the latter capability facilitates free-flowing interactions spanning multiple prompts and follow-up requests.

The service is accessible via not only Google’s smart home devices but also a newly redesigned companion app. It loads more than 70% faster on some devices, while crashes occur about 80% less frequently. Consumers can use the app to manage both existing devices in Google’s smart home lineup and the new gadgets it debuted today.

The first new device, the Google Home Speaker, is a spherical smart speaker priced at $99.99. It features 360-degree audio, which enables it to produce more realistic sounds than the company’s earlier hardware. Customers can combine two Google Home Speakers with a Google TV Streamer streaming device to create a surround-sound home theater system. 

The speaker features a light ring not included in the company’s earlier devices. The ring changes its color based on the prompt processing task that the device is performing. Google stated today that the Google Home Speaker’s AI features are powered by “custom processing,” which suggests it may include a custom chip. 

The speaker is rolling out alongside three Nest cameras that range from $99.99 to $179.99. One is designed for indoor use, another can be installed outdoors and the third functions as a doorbell. All three devices record 2K HDR footage, which corresponds to a resolution of 2560 by 1440 pixels. They have a bigger field of view than Google’s earlier cameras and perform better in low light conditions.

The three devices support a set of new video processing features included in Gemini for Home. One capability, Home Brief, can automatically generate footage summaries. Another feature enables users to search videos for events such as the arrival of a package using natural language prompts.

Home Brief, Gemini Live and several of the other AI features that debuted today are included in a subscription called Google Home Premium. It’s available from $10 per month or $100 per year. The subscription is free for customers who use the Pro and Ultra tiers of Google AI, a service that provides access to the company’s latest artificial intelligence models. 

Gemini for Home will start rolling out to the company’s existing smart home products later this month through an early access program. The three new smart cameras are available today, while the Google Home Speaker will then launch next spring. 

Image: Google