Google just made Gemini for Home a lot better at running your smart home

If you have a Google smart display or speaker at home, there are new updates you should know about. Google has rolled out a fresh batch of improvements to Gemini for Home, making the assistant noticeably smarter and faster across smart speakers and displays.

Gemini for Home is getting smarter and more personal

The most interesting addition is how Gemini now uses information you’ve saved in Ask Home to answer camera-related questions. If you’ve saved a note saying your nanny’s name is Alice, you can ask Gemini when Alice arrived, and it will pull up the relevant camera footage automatically.

You can also ask for a Home Brief on your speaker or display to get a quick summary of everything that happened at home while you were away. On smart displays, Gemini will now show thumbs-up and thumbs-down buttons after most voice interactions, making it easier to give Google quick feedback.

Response times have also improved across the board. Backend processing for common commands has been optimized, so things like turning on lights, setting alarms, and managing timers should feel noticeably quicker than before.

Adult users will also now get more helpful responses to general queries, including things like cocktail recipes, while parental controls remain in place to protect younger users.

The Google Home app is getting useful upgrades too

These updates arrive alongside version 4.16 of the Google Home app, which brings its own set of improvements. Device setup is now simpler thanks to a new QR code discovery flow that automatically directs you to the right setup path for your device.

Nest Thermostat users can now pause outdoor temperature settings with a single tap, without affecting their long-term schedule. Thermostat schedule banners also now display more relevant and timely information.

Lastly, iPhone users can now manage compatible third-party thermostats and air conditioners directly in the app, catching up with what Android users could already do.