Alongside all the new hardware and the powerful new Gemini for Home intelligence, Google is rolling out the final, crucial piece of its smart home revitalization: a completely rebuilt and redesigned Google Home app. Based on user feedback, Google rebuilt the app from the ground up with three primary goals in mind: make it faster, more reliable, and finally, complete. This is the app that’s built to handle the new, powerful Gemini for Home experience, and it’s rolling out globally starting today.
Finally, a fast and reliable foundation
The number one piece of feedback Google heard from users was that before adding any new AI features, the app simply needed to be fast and reliable. This was Google’s top priority in the redesign, and the results are impressive.
According to Google, the new app now loads significantly faster—over 70% faster on some Android devices—and app crashes are down by nearly 80% from just a few months ago. For camera users, live views now load 30% faster, and scrolling through your video history is far smoother with a more than 6x higher frame rate. This is the stable, responsive foundation many of us have been waiting for.
The best of the Nest app is now in one place
The second goal was to create a truly unified app, and that meant finally bringing the best of the Nest app into the Google Home experience. With this new update, you’ll no longer need to switch between apps. Full support for your core Nest devices and features is now here, including:
- All Nest Thermostat models since 2015, with features like schedules.
- Emergency smoke and CO alerts for Nest Protect.
- Passcode management for the Nest x Yale Lock.
A new design built for Gemini
Finally, the app has been redesigned with a more intuitive layout that puts the power of Gemini at your fingertips. There’s a simplified three-tab layout (Home, Activity, Automations), and the “Ask Home” natural language command bar is now persistently accessible from the header as you move through the app. This makes it the central way to control devices, find camera clips, and even create complex automations just by describing what you want.
The camera experience has also been upgraded with rich, animated notification previews and new YouTube-like gestures, like double-tapping to fast-forward or rewind through your video history.
This is a massive and much-needed overhaul for the Google Home app. It’s faster, it’s unified, and it’s intelligently designed around the power of Gemini. The updates are starting to roll out globally today, so be sure to check your app for the new experience.
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