Finally, Google Home and Nest cameras get the Gemini upgrade I’ve been waiting for

Google is rolling out a major refresh for its Home ecosystem, and it’s finally the upgrade I’ve have been waiting for. The new Google Home app, rebuilt from the ground up for Gemini, promises to be faster, more reliable, and complete – delivering a smart home experience that feels modern and effortless.

Performance was the first priority. The app now loads up to 70-percent faster on some smartphones, with crash rates cut by nearly 80-percent. Camera experiences have been supercharged too: live views load 30-percent faster, playback failures are down 40-percent, and scrolling through your camera history now runs at over six times the frame rate.

All Nest devices and features now live seamlessly in Home, including every Nest Thermostat since 2015, Protect alerts, and Nest x Yale Lock passcodes. Older security cameras and doorbells will benefit from smoother, faster video playback, eliminating the need to switch between apps.

The redesigned three-tab layout puts Gemini at your fingertips: the Home Tab for an overview of your devices, the Activity Tab for a complete event history with Home Brief summaries, and the Automations Tab with a fast, native editor and upcoming automation carousel.

Cameras now provide rich, context-aware alerts, like “Abbie walking with flowers,” and Ask Home lets you control devices, find clips, or create automations with natural language.

New hardware, too

On the hardware side, Google is launching a new generation of Gemini-optimised devices. The Nest Cam Indoor (3rd gen), Nest Cam Outdoor (2nd gen), and Nest Doorbell (3rd gen) all deliver 2K HDR video, wider fields of view, improved low-light performance, and smarter AI alerts.

Each comes with six hours of video history, digital zoom, and intelligent notifications – all without a subscription. Sustainability and privacy are baked in, from recycled materials to encrypted video and visible activity LEDs.

Google also revealed the new Google Home Speaker, built for Gemini, offering natural conversation, 360° audio, and stereo pairing with Google TV. It’s compact, elegant, sustainably made, and due to launch in Spring 2026 for $99.

Finally, Google is opening the ecosystem to partners. Walmart’s onn Indoor Camera Wired and onn Video Doorbell Wired bring Gemini-powered features to an affordable price point, fully integrated with the Home app.

These updates roll out globally on October 1 – I’ll be repeatedly checking the Play Store for updates.

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Spencer Hart Buying Guide Editor

About

As Buying Guide Editor, Spencer is responsible for all e-commerce content on Stuff, overseeing buying guides as well as covering deals and new product launches. Spencer has been writing about consumer tech for over eight years. He has worked on some of the biggest publications in the UK, where he covered everything from the emergence of smartwatches to the arrival of self-driving cars. During this time, Spencer has become a seasoned traveller, racking up air miles while travelling around the world reviewing cars, attending product launches, and covering every trade show known to man, from Baselworld and Geneva Motor Show to CES and MWC. While tech remains one of his biggest passions, Spencer also enjoys getting hands-on with the latest luxury watches, trying out new grooming kit, and road-testing all kinds of vehicles, from electric scooters to supercars.

Areas of expertise

Watches, travel, grooming, transport, tech