Google has offered a first look at a new Nest smart speaker, expected to be powered by its new Gemini for home voice assistant and to join other devices in the Nest line up. The smart speaker made a brief appearance during a skit featuring F1 driver Lando Norris at the Made by Google 2025 event.
Meanwhile, Google has finally decided to bring its generative AI, Gemini, to Google Home, powering daily household tasks after the previewing as an extension in Gemini app. It ends the embarrassing situation in which Gemini appears everywhere in Google except home products.
The potential new Nest speaker
The speaker shown at the event has a rounded design with a matte (alike) finish, similar to most smart speakers on the market. However, it differs from previous Nest models: the status indicator is on the bottom, making it look more like a flatter version of the Echo Dot. Its tiny, compact size suggests it will compete with the HomePod Mini and Echo Dot at an affordable price, with Matter support.
We can expect full smart home hub features for Google Home, but there may be compromises in audio quality and connectivity options; for example, Thread support could be missing as with the Nest Mini. The new Nest speaker is expected to be one of the Google’s next smart home devices, deeply integrated with the powerful Gemini for home AI.
Gemini for Home
Gemini for Home is Google’s new AI assistant, built on advanced AI models. It is designed to be more helpful and understanding within the home environment. This powerful assistant is set to replace the existing Google Assistant on current speakers and displays. Users will still begin interactions with “Hey Google”, but their conversations are intended to feel fundamentally new. Gemini will understand context and respond to more nuanced or complex requests, moving away from rigid commands.
It can improve daily tasks in several ways. It can discover and play media by allowing users to ask for specific songs, for example, “play the song of the year winner from 1990” or “play that song from this year’s summer blockbuster about race cars.” It also provides more powerful smart home controls, enabling users to issue multiple commands at once, such as “dim the lights and set the temperature to 72 degrees.” Gemini can reason through complex instructions, allowing users to say things like “turn off the lights everywhere except my bedroom.” Furthermore, it helps organize home and family life with improved natural language support for creating calendars, lists and timers, exemplified by requests like “add the ingredients to make an authentic Italian lasagna to my shopping list” or “set a timer for perfectly blanched broccoli.”
Gemini Live
Initially available on phones, Gemini Live is coming to home devices as well, bringing intuitive conversational capabilities directly into the home space. Users can start a conversation by saying “Hey Google, let’s chat”, and then engage in a natural back-and-forth discussion without needing to repeat “Hey Google” for each follow-up. For example, you can ask for kitchen recipe suggestions or request help making plans without a clear idea or schedule. Gemini Live can also use Google Search to help with challenges, such as guiding you through steps to fix a dishwasher that isn’t draining. Google also says you can ask it to create and tell kids stories, making it a good companion at home.
Gemini for home will replace the existing Google Assistant in speaker and display devices. It will be available in both free and paid versions, starting in October. The timing also suggests that a new Nest hardware launch event is near.
(Sources: Google; Image Source: Google)