Google has removed its longstanding “Call Home” feature from the Google Home app in recent updates, breaking support for starting calls directly to devices such as the Nest Hub Max.
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The beauty of Google Home is that it mixes together a lot of great smart home tech into one app, but there’s always been a clear disconnect in cameras. If you have a Nest camera and another brand, for instance, the Nest camera is always going to work better. That’s why the reveal of Google’s partnership with Walmart for affordable smart home hardware was pretty exciting, and why the discounts have been irresistible.
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Google has shown a lot of love to older Nest products recently in terms of adding new features, but users of older first-generation Nest Cams have been left with an issue that leaves the cameras offline in the Google Home app, with no clear way to fix it.
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The Gemini for Home voice assistant started rolling out at the end of October, with Early Access availability currently quite limited. A trick today does not enable the new LLM-powered assistant, but does give you access to the new Gemini voices.
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The latest edition of the Google Home releases notes today are not tied to a specific version of the app, and focus on Gemini for Home improvements.
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Material 3 Expressive switched back to a shorter bottom bar, but not all apps — like Google Home — adopted that at launch. That has now changed.
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I’m not really a huge fan of modern AI. For the past couple of years, it’s just been shoved into everything online, and usually not for the better. Google, though, has really hit its stride lately in finding incredible, out-of-the-box ways to use AI to just make things better, and there are a couple of key examples of this.
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Google is rolling out Home app 4.3 for Android (not yet widely available) and iOS (already live) today as a more sizable update.
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Outside of Gemini, work on the Google Home app continues today with “Improved device controls” in the Public Preview program.
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Welcome to The Sideload episode 12, a 9to5Google podcast. This week, Will welcomes Ben Schoon back to the show to discuss his experience using Gemini for Home, Google’s AI-optimized suite of tools now available in early access. It’s a surprisingly positive experience in Ben’s eyes, but does that just make its letdowns sting that much more? Plus, Ben and Will talk through how Gemini can shine on Google TV, whether it’s improving the right parts of Android Auto, and Ben’s favorite smartphone of 2025.
Gemini for Google Home has arrived and, with it, a glimpse of Google’s view of the future of the smart home. But that future is still held back by the simple fact that, like anything with AI, it makes too many mistakes.
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IKEA has announced over 20 new Matter-connected smart home products coming to market soon.
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Google Assistant is officially being shown the door, and Gemini is sneaking in through the back. As early access opens for users, adding Gemini to Google Home requires signing up – here’s how.
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Following the last edition on Friday (which the Gemini for Home voice assistant requires), release notes for Google Home 4.2 are now available.
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Google is beginning to roll out the Gemini for Home voice assistant in the US for devices set to English on all Nest speakers and displays from the past decade. Make sure you’re enrolled in the Early Access program.
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Walmart’s Google Home-integrated cameras promise the feature set of Nest but at a fraction of the cost. But, for some users, there have been some issues in getting these cameras working.
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Release notes for Google Home 4.1 are now available. This is the first major app update following the redesign.
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Ahead of Gemini for Home early access coming at the end of October, Google is rolling out a firmware update that brings new light colors to the Nest Audio and Mini.
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In the drought of new Nest Hub updates, Google’s head of Home has confirmed that, yes, the Nest Hub is not dead, but there’s also no “explicit news” just yet.
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Google’s efforts in the smart home have been a mixed bag, and that’s a nice way of putting it. For many users, Google’s handful of fumbles in Home, Nest, and especially Assistant, have burned trust, but Google says it is “committed” to earning that back.
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Gemini for Home is the umbrella term for Google’s renewed smart home effort with several distinct aspects: app, camera, and voice assistant. From what the company has shared so far, here’s when Gemini for Home is rolling out.
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Following new announcements this week, the future of Google Home is brighter than ever, and that’s exciting.
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The Google Home team is answering the “top questions” it has received from users since Wednesday’s Gemini for Home launch.
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Welcome to episode 72 of Pixelated, a podcast by 9to5Google. Abner, Damien, and Will reconvene to talk all about Google’s recent smart home announcements. From Gemini for Home and Google’s revised subscription service to the new Home Speaker and that very, very red Nest 2K smart cam, it’s feeling like a fully revitalized smart home platform, and we’re here to talk you through every announcement.
