Google announced that this fall it will replace the current AI Assistant with the Gemini model across all Nest smart speakers and displays, bringing advanced conversational AI support, Gemini Live functionalities, and the ability to manage multiple devices simultaneously.
Unlike traditional voice commands, Gemini for Home understands complex queries, allowing users to issue multiple requests in a single sentence without rigid phrasing. Thanks to the Gemini Live mode, interactions become more natural, expanding use cases from suggesting dinner ideas based on fridge contents to diagnosing household appliances.
Google plans to offer both free and paid versions, with early users gaining access through a preview program in October, followed by a wider rollout later.
This move positions Google directly in the intensifying race for smart home dominance. Alongside Amazon’s Alexa upgrades, Samsung’s AI appliance ecosystem, and rumors of new Apple AI devices, the battle for the central digital assistant in households is heating up. While we are still in the early stages of truly useful AI hardware, upgrades are arriving quickly – and the competition is becoming increasingly exciting.
In Brief: Tech World Highlights
- DeepSeek launched its V3.1 model with a larger contextual window, while Chinese media attribute the R2 release delay to “perfectionism” by CEO Liang Wenfeng.
- Eight Sleep announced a $100 million funding round, planning to develop the world’s first “Sleep Agent” for proactive recovery and sleep optimization.
- Runway released a series of platform updates, including support for third-party models and visual improvements in Chat Mode.
- LM Arena unveiled BiomedArena, a new evaluation track for testing and ranking LLM performance on real-world biomedical research.
- OpenAI launched ChatGPT Go in India, a new subscription option priced at ₹399/month (~$4.60), significantly cheaper than the existing Plus plan at $20/month.
AI Trending Tools:
- NEO – Neo AI’s new state-of-the-art autonomous machine learning engineer.
- FLUX.1 Krea [dev] – Advanced open-source image generation model developed by BFL and Krea.
- AlphaEarth Foundations – Google’s AI model for on-demand map creation.
