- The new Google Home update is mainly about making Gemini more useful
- Google says you should notice much faster responses on key tasks
- More adult features are also unlocked, including cocktail recipes.
There’s a new Google Home update available for your devices, and while the core app hasn’t changed drastically, there are some useful improvements in Gemini.
I wonder what demographic Google is targeting here, though: one of the suggested improvements is that you can now tell Gemini your babysitter’s name so it can respond when you ask “if your babysitter arrived.”
The good news is that you don’t need to have a Mary Poppins to take advantage of Gemini’s improvements in Early Access, the first of which is very welcome: everything should be noticeably faster. The goal of this update was, according to Google, “deeper customization and faster response times.”
This is the new thing.
What’s new in the May 11 Google Home update
The most significant changes are in Gemini, which can now use information you’ve saved in Ask Home, such as the names of family, friends, or other visitors. You can also ask Gemini to give you a summary of anything that happened while you were away by asking your speaker or display for a “home report.”
If, like me, you use your smart home to control smart lights, you’ll appreciate the internal improvements that Google says make your lights respond to commands much more quickly. And it should also be faster to set alarms and timers, as the update will provide faster responses and less need to repeat the same thing.
If that eliminates the post-command pause that leaves you wondering if your device heard you, that will be a big improvement.
Another important change is the removal of some barriers that prevented adults from getting answers: Gemini will still prevent kids from learning how to make a margarita, but now it will give adults a little help with the mixology.
As for the rest of the Home app, there are improvements for Nest thermostats for easier override and, on iOS, controls for non-Nest thermostats, a feature already offered in the Android app. And there’s a new, easier device setup to add new things to your smart home.
The update is now available and you can read the full release notes here.
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