Earlier today, Google announced a successor to the oddly-named Chromecast with Google TV — to some extent Known as Google TV Streamer, this name is a bit strange. Along with this, the company also revealed that Google Home is also being named Google TV Streamer. Geminified In the near future, because of course it is.
Gemini will be used to analyze your Nest’s camera feed and, “over time” (whatever that means) it will move from “understanding” a narrow set of specific things like motion, people, and packages to “becoming able to more broadly understand what it sees and hears, and then surface what’s most important.”
Google says this means that in the future, at some pointThe camera will not just understand that it has seen an animal, but also things like “the dog is digging in the garden.” Details like these will make your camera clips “much more useful” in the Google Home app.
You’ll also be able to use the new Camera Activity Search to find what you want. The example given is “Did the kids leave their bikes in the driveway?” but of course this could apply to anything in theory. Google Home can “search your camera history, giving you a list of only relevant events and a helpful summary”, and there’s “no limit to what you can ask”. “This will be a significant change for Nest cameras and will transform the way you get help in your home”, says Google.
Gemini will also be used to take the complexity out of creating automations for your smart home. A new Help Me Create feature in the Google Home app will let you describe what you want in simple language, and then Gemini will set it up for you. You can say things like “Lock the door and turn off all the lights while you’re sleeping” and the automation will be created seamlessly.
And even if you don’t have an exact automation in mind, Gemini can help by suggesting actions based on what’s possible with your device.
“Later this year” you can also expect an improved Google Assistant on your Nest speakers and displays, including the voices demoed below. It will be “more natural and helpful for everyone in your home”. It will “understand you better”, allowing you to chat more naturally and easily go back and forth and ask follow-up questions. This new Assistant will use Gemini’s generative capabilities to help you even more.
Google will roll out these features “later this year to a limited number of Nest Aware subscribers who are in public preview.” Everyone else still has a long way to wait.
