Best Google Home Devices as Gemini Replaces Assistant

Buy the Nest Hub (2nd gen) if you want a screen and the Google Home Speaker if you do not. Either one also works as the Matter hub that Google Home needs before it will accept Matter devices from other makers, so it is the sensible first purchase. After that, add only what the house needs.

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A first device: screen or speaker

Nest Hub (2nd gen)

About $100, with a 7-inch touchscreen for tapping lights, locks and the thermostat, and for video from Netflix and YouTube. There is no camera. A motion sensor reads hand gestures, and a feature called Sleep Sensing tracks your sleep. Masking noise through the night is a different job, the one sound machines for sleep are built for. Google’s spec sheet now lists the Gemini for Home voice assistant, a Thread border router and Matter hub duties. Google Nest Hub (2nd gen) on Amazon

Google Home Speaker

Google’s new speaker, about $100, built around Gemini for Home. The spec sheet lists a 58mm driver that fires in all directions, three microphones with a hardware mute switch, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4. It is a hub for Matter and a Thread border router. Google says it can pair with a Google TV Streamer for surround sound, and that it groups with Nest speakers, Nest displays and other Google Cast devices.

A trial of Google Home Premium comes with it. The store page gives the length as 30 days in one place and six months in another, so read the offer at checkout. When the trial ends, Google says you keep a more basic Gemini for quick answers, smart home control and tasks. Google Home Speaker on Amazon

The Nest Audio and Nest Mini have gone from the store. Their old addresses now open the Google Home Speaker’s page.

Nest Hub Max

At $229, the 10-inch display with stereo speakers and a built-in Nest Cam for video calls. The Google Store shows it as out of stock, so we would not plan around it.

A hub that is not tied to Google means comparing the other smart home hubs.

The TV box and the mesh router

The Google TV Streamer (4K), about $150, is a set-top box with 4K HDR, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, 32GB of storage and an Ethernet port. Google says it is a hub for Google Home and Matter with Thread built in, and that a home panel on the TV controls cameras, lights and thermostats. Buy it for the streaming: as a hub alone it costs $50 more than the speaker or the display. It needs an HDMI 2.1 cable, which is not in the box. Google TV Streamer (4K) on Amazon

The Nest Wifi Pro, from about $200, is a Wi-Fi 6E mesh router. Google gives each unit up to 2,200 square feet of coverage, and it is also a Matter hub and Thread border router. Buy it if you need a router anyway. Google Nest Wifi Pro on Amazon

Nest Thermostat or the Learning model

Buy the Nest Thermostat, about $130, unless you want the room sensor. It follows a schedule you set in the Google Home app and can turn itself down when you leave. Google Nest Thermostat on Amazon

The Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen), about $280, learns the temperatures you like and suggests its own schedule. It comes with one Nest Temperature Sensor for another room, and Google says it works with Matter, so other Matter apps can control it too. The gap is $150. Pay it if one room runs hotter or colder than the hallway where the thermostat sits. Google Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen) on Amazon

Both control a central heating and cooling system. Google’s store has a compatibility checker, and it is worth running before you order.

Nest doorbells and cameras

The three newest models record in 2K: the Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen), the Nest Cam Indoor (wired, 3rd gen) and the Nest Cam Outdoor (wired, 2nd gen). The older battery models are still sold. Google’s comparison gives the battery doorbell 960p video and the Nest Cam (battery) 1080p.

The wired doorbell and the battery doorbell cost the same, about $200. Take the wired one if the house has doorbell wiring, for the sharper picture, and the battery one where there is none. Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen) on Amazon · Google Nest Doorbell (battery) on Amazon

The cameras to get are the wired 2K models: the indoor one is about $130 and the outdoor one starts at about $200. Google Nest Cam Indoor (wired, 3rd gen) on Amazon · Google Nest Cam Outdoor (wired, 2nd gen) on Amazon

Count the subscription before you buy a camera. Without one, the new wired models keep six hours of event previews, in clips of up to ten seconds. The Standard plan, at $100 a year, keeps 30 days of events. Advanced keeps 60 days and adds 10 days of round-the-clock recording on cameras and wired doorbells. One plan covers every device in the home, so the cost is the same for one camera or five.

What Gemini for Home changes

Google’s announcement says Gemini for Home will, over time, replace Google Assistant on existing speakers and displays, in free and paid versions. The Google Store now calls Google Assistant “our previous voice assistant”. You still start with “Hey Google”.

It is still arriving. Google’s help page calls the current stage early access and lists 20 countries: the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and twelve in mainland Europe. India and Nigeria are not on the list, and Google says other countries and languages will follow over time. Adding a Google Home Speaker to a home makes that home eligible to opt in.

Think before opting in, because there is no way back. The switch applies to every compatible device in the home, and Google says a home that has switched cannot return to Google Assistant.

The basics are free: smart home control, media search and playback, alarms, timers, calendar events, notes, lists, reminders and general questions need no subscription. Gemini Live, the back-and-forth conversation mode, needs Google Home Premium, and searching camera history by voice and the daily Home Brief need its Advanced plan. Google Home Premium is the new name for Nest Aware. The Standard plan is $10 a month or $100 a year. Advanced is $20 a month or $200 a year.

Google lists these as getting the complete Gemini for Home assistant: the Google Home Speaker, Nest Hub (2nd gen), Nest Hub (1st gen), Nest Hub Max, Nest Audio, Nest Mini (2nd gen) and the first Google Home Mini. The original Google Home, the Home Max, the Nest Wifi point and speakers from other makers get most features but not Gemini Live. Google’s help page has the current list. Owners of a speaker from another maker can read more about speakers with Google Assistant.

Google’s full home range and US prices

This is what Google itself sells on its US store, with Google Store prices rounded.

The store also shows a Yale Smart Lock with Matter and a First Alert smoke and carbon monoxide alarm. Google does not sell either itself. Both pages send you to other retailers. The full range is on the Google Store’s smart home page.

In India these cannot be bought from Google directly: its India store lists phones, watches and earbuds but none of the home devices.