Google Assistant is officially retired, replaced by Gemini for Home, a groundbreaking AI assistant rolling out to all compatible Nest devices. This is a foundational intelligence upgrade, bringing natural conversation, complex command understanding, and semantic scene interpretation to cameras. The new Google Home Premium subscription unlocks features like Gemini Live for free-flowing chat, detailed AI-powered notifications, and the ability to search your video history simply by asking “Ask Home.” The entire system is anchored by a faster, rebuilt Google Home app and new 2K HDR Nest Cams.
The era of transactional smart home commands is officially over. Today, October 1, 2025, Google unveiled its most radical smart home transformation in a decade, confirming the end of the line for Google Assistant and the immediate launch of Gemini for Home. This isn’t just a rebrand; it is a foundational intelligence upgrade, backed by a redesigned Google Home app, an entirely new line of Nest cameras, and a new subscription service, Google Home Premium.
The Gemini AI Revolution
Gemini for Home is the conversational AI replacing Google Assistant on smart speakers and smart displays, with an early access rollout beginning towards the end of October. Built on Google’s most powerful large language models, the new assistant is designed to be a collaborative partner rather than a simple command-and-response tool. Users can now speak in natural, complex sentences—free of rigid phrasing—and the AI will understand the context, even across multiple follow-up questions. For instance, you can now say, “Dim the lights in the living room, and set the thermostat to 72 degrees,” or, “My dishwasher isn’t draining, what should I check?” followed up with, “The filter looks clean, what next?” without repeating the device name.
A key conversational feature is Gemini Live, a continuous chat mode activated by saying “Hey Google, let’s chat.” In this mode, the “Hey Google” hotword is no longer needed, allowing for a more free-flowing discussion for brainstorming, problem-solving, or even getting detailed cooking instructions and personalized advice. While the core conversational control of your home remains free, Gemini Live is a premium feature included in the new Google Home Premium subscription. The Gemini upgrade is remarkably backwards-compatible, rolling out to virtually all Google and Nest smart speakers and displays released in the last decade, dating back to the original Google Home in 2016.
New Hardware Engineered for AI
To showcase the full power of Gemini for Home, Google also launched a new portfolio of Nest cameras and a doorbell, all available starting today:
- Nest Cam Indoor (3rd gen)
- Nest Cam Outdoor (2nd gen)
- Nest Doorbell (3rd gen)
These new wired devices feature 2K HDR video and wider fields of view, providing the rich visual data necessary for the multimodal AI to truly “understand” what it is seeing. This semantic scene understanding is the core of the new camera experience. Instead of generic “motion detected” alerts, Gemini-powered notifications can provide detailed descriptions like “a USPS delivery driver is placing a package on the porch” or “the kids are on the trampoline.”
Google also announced the Google Home Speaker, an audio device explicitly engineered for Gemini, featuring custom processing for fluid conversations and an expressive light ring. However, this speaker is slated for release in the spring of 2026, as Google is prioritizing the software rollout to existing devices first.
Finally, Google announced a partnership with Walmart, introducing budget-friendly Onn Indoor Camera Wired and Onn Video Doorbell Wired devices that will work within the redesigned Google Home app and offer access to the same Gemini features.
The App and Subscription Overhaul
The entire experience is anchored by a significantly redesigned Google Home app, which has been rebuilt for faster, more reliable performance—claiming a 70% faster startup time and an 80% reduction in crashes. The app simplifies navigation into three main tabs: Home, Activity, and Automations.
At the heart of the app is Ask Home, a persistent, natural-language command center. You can use it to issue complex device controls, search your camera history with simple questions like “Did I leave the car door open?”, or even conversationally create new automations.
To access the most advanced features of this new AI-powered home, Google is introducing Google Home Premium, which officially replaces the old Nest Aware subscription. The standard tier is priced at $10 a month and unlocks:
- AI-powered notifications with detailed descriptions.
- Ask Home for video history search.
- Home Brief, an AI-generated daily summary of all important home activity.
- Gemini Live on speakers and displays.
Subscribers to Google’s AI Pro and AI Ultra plans will have the Home Premium features included at no additional cost. While the core voice assistant functionality remains free, the most transformative, AI-driven features will require a paid subscription, marking a clear pivot in Google’s smart home monetization strategy.
