Google Home gets another big update with app improvements, voice & camera upgrades

Ben Schoon | Jun 23 2026 - 12:30 pm PT

The updates keep on coming, with Google Home now rolling out yet another big update that improves on not only the app itself, but also Gemini voice commands and camera features too.

All arriving as a part of Home’s early access program, Google today shared a host of new updates rolling out now.

This starts with further voice assistant improvements for Gemini’s Google Home support. This includes faster performance for key commands such as timers, lists, and alarms, while also better filtering out accidental hotword triggers and background speech. Media controls should also be faster for Spotify and YouTube, with Gemini further now able to answer questions about currently-playing media.

Google explains:

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Voice Assistant

Conversational & Latency Performance Upgrades

Fewer accidental activations: Improved filtering of accidental hotword triggers, reducing false starts for live conversations.

Quickly end conversations: Gemini now reliably ends Continued Conversation and goes quiet when you say “No thanks” or “Stop” to follow-up questions.

Better background speech filtering: With Continued Conversation turned on, Gemini does a better job of ignoring background speech so it doesn’t respond when it’s not being spoken to.

Speed improvements for alarms, timers and lists: Optimized speed and accuracy when managing alarms, timers, or lists.

Try saying:

“Start a 6 minute egg timer”

“Set an alarm for tomorrow morning at 6”

“Add ingredients for healthy chia breakfast pudding to my grocery list”

Media & Entertainment Upgrades

Start listening faster: Media playback on Spotify and Youtube is now faster. Simple requests like “play music” or playing your liked playlists also start playback much faster.

Play & shuffle accuracy: Improved voice reliability and verbal confirmations when playing and shuffling music or video playlists. “Play and shuffle my liked songs”

Media search improvements: Ask questions about movies, artists, and music and get directed to more accurate answers. While music is playing, ask “Who sang this song?”

Google is also using this latest update to bring Gemini for Home to all users in a household, including kids. Google breaks this down on a separate support page.

Beyond that, Nest Cam (and other Google Home cameras) will be getting better Gemini AI support. Google says it will improve Familiar Faces by “automatically updating your Familiar Face library to save the most recent and accurate examples.” Audio will also now be used for event descriptions that Gemini generates, such as “dogs barking, alarms, or footsteps.”

The Google Home app is getting some big updates here too.

Google says that the Android app is getting a faster camera event interface, while cameras will get a faster and smoother timeline on the iOS app. Most Nest Thermostat models can also now automatically detect potential HVAC system issues and allow you to contact a professional for help. Matter switches should also work better in this latest Google Home update, including the ability to “configure actions for buttons on your switches directly in the device tile for the switch” and combining multi-button switches into “a single, unified device tile.”

The Google Home app is also cleaning up a bunch of bugs and performance issues, with Google calling out the following fixes and improvements:

Tap to return home: Tap on ‘Home’ ‘Activity’ or ‘Automations’ button to scroll to the top of the page

Reliable Android TV connections: We’ve fixed issues in setup flows for certain Chromecast devices. This ensures you have a more stable and dependable experience when controlling your television from your phone.

Improved location features: We’ve resolved an issue where certain devices were incorrectly set up for location-based features. This ensures your home transitions between home and away modes more accurately.

More reliable camera controls: We’ve improved the reliability of camera light toggles and interface controls. This ensures you can always control your camera’s features with confidence.

Faster home widgets: We’ve improved the responsiveness of the Google Home widget on your phone’s home screen. This ensures your smart plugs, lights, and switches react instantly to your first tap.

Faster light color changes: We’ve prioritized light group color controls directly in the action bar for Android users. This gives you immediate access to adjust your room’s lighting instantly, making it easier to set the perfect mood.

Smoother automation tab navigation: We’ve resolved a scrolling issue with messages in the Automation tab. This provides a more seamless experience when managing your home routines without unexpected visual interruptions.

Improved readability for suggestions: We’ve updated our suggestion cards to dynamically scale based on your preferred font size settings. This prevents text from being cut off, ensuring you can easily read personalized recommendations at a glance.

Improved stability: We’ve improved stability to reduce crash rates and improve loading times, especially for users in Public Preview.