- The launch of Gemini for Home has not had a great reception so far
- A video has surfaced showing him performing some “absolutely wrong” tasks.
- Others are frustrated by bugs and features locked behind a paywall.
The initial launch of Gemini for Home isn’t exactly going smoothly, and a new YouTube video demonstrates some of the problems with the smart home service, while users are noticing that some features that were previously free are now being paid for.
The video was uploaded by Adam Hrivnacky (via Android Authority) and shows a variety of issues. It also highlights how inferior the Gemini experience on smart devices apparently is compared to the Gemini assistant on a smartphone.
For example, hinting that the temperature is too cold doesn’t activate the smart thermostat’s controls, but it does generate a message about a Spotify account not being connected—just one of the “absolutely wrong” responses Hrivnacky notes during his demo.
Gemini on a Nest Hub also refuses to control smart lights, something the Gemini on a phone can handle. Reminders and tasks are another feature that works well in the Gemini mobile app, but not through Gemini for Home—further proof that Google has a lot of work to do to bring this service up to date.
Pay for continuous conversation
Look
As the YouTuber himself acknowledges, Gemini for Home is still in the early stages of implementation and bugs are perhaps to be expected. Still, it’s a pretty frustrating experience for users right now, and it seems like some basic smart home tasks are still being handed over to Google Assistant when the Gemini doesn’t know what to do.
Meanwhile, as PCWorld’s Ben Patterson pointed out, switching from Google Assistant to Gemini for Home also removes the continuous conversation feature, which lets you ask follow-up questions without saying “Hey Google” every time.
If you want a natural flow to your chats, you’ll need to pay for a subscription to Google Home Premium, with prices starting at $10 / £8 / AU$15 a month. It replaces the old Nest Aware plan and comes with extras like extended video files for cameras.
Making such a fundamental shift toward a smart home ecosystem was likely always going to come with technical issues, but this isn’t much fun for early access users currently switching, and Google needs to iron out these bugs quickly.
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