Google bets on Gemini to reinvent the smart home speaker

After years of incremental updates, Google is betting that its Gemini AI can reinvent its smart speaker. On Wednesday, the company introduced its first audio device built specifically for Gemini with the $99.99 Google Home Speaker.

The new Google Home device is the first standalone smart speaker from the tech giant since the Nest Audio in September 2020. That older device arrived at a time when smart speakers were thought of largely as handy controllers for your smart home and music-playing systems. They lacked the smarts of today’s AI chatbots, as commands often had to be phrased correctly to get things to work.

The Google Home Speaker is changing that, as you’ll be able to speak using natural language requests and even make multi-step requests using the phrasing you’d like. For instance, you could tell the speaker to “turn off all the lights except for my bedside lamp,” or “dim the kitchen lights, play some relaxing music, and set a timer for 20 minutes.”

You can also make corrections mid-sentence as you speak instead of having to try requests again, and Gemini will understand. That means you could say something like “turn off the coffee maker…I mean, turn it on!” and the AI will respond appropriately, Google points out.

Plus, the device will ship with 10 new voices that can have two-way conversations with you about topics that aren’t limited to smart home tasks or other simple commands. You can ask more nuanced questions and dive deeper into topics you want to learn about, as you could when speaking with Gemini on your smartphone. The speaker’s microphone can also remain on briefly when using the “Continued Conversation” feature, so you can more naturally ask follow-up questions without having to say “OK, Google” again.

The device itself looks similar to older versions, with its 3D-knit textile wrapping and rounded 3.4 x 4.2-inch design. In the U.S., the speaker comes in Jade and Berry colors in addition to the Hazel and Porcelain options available in the rest of the world. A new ring light at the bottom will indicate if the speaker is listening, thinking, or responding.

But not all of the new device’s AI smarts will be free.

Instead, Google will sell Google Home Premium subscription plans for $10 per month (or $100 per year) if you want to take advantage of more powerful AI features. This includes being able to have more free-flowing conversations with Gemini Live, which you kick off by saying “Hey Google, let’s chat.” Home Premium can also help you ask about and make sense of activity captured on your home’s Nest cameras, or offer summaries of what happened in the home while you were out.

Whether those capabilities are compelling enough to justify another monthly subscription remains to be seen, particularly when many of the device’s Gemini features are available without paying.

Google will try to get you used to the advanced features by offering them for free for six months before pushing you to subscribe, however. If successful, Google will have reinvigorated the smart speaker lineup with generative AI and found a way to get some customers to pay for those technological advances.

The device is available for pre-order now and will ship later this month.