- New Google Home update mainly aims to make Gemini more useful
- Google says you should notice much faster responses in key tasks
- More adult features also unlocked, including cocktail recipes
A new Google Home update is available for your devices, and while the main app hasn’t changed drastically, Gemini has some useful improvements.
I wonder what demographic Google is targeting here, though: one of its suggested improvements is that you can now tell Gemini your nanny’s name so it can respond when you ask “if your nanny has arrived.”
The good news is that you don’t need to have a Mary Poppins to take advantage of the Gemini Early Access improvements, the first of which is welcome: everything should be noticeably faster. The goal of this update was, according to Google, “deeper customization and faster response times.”
Here are the new features.
What’s new in the Google Home May 11 update
The biggest changes are for Gemini, which can now use information you’ve saved in Ask Home, such as the names of family members, friends, or other visitors. You can also ask Gemini to give you a recap of everything that happened while you were away by asking your speaker or screen for a “home briefing.”
If, like me, you use your smart home to control smart lights, you’ll appreciate the under-the-hood improvements that Google says make your lights respond much faster to commands. And it should also be faster to set alarms and timers, with the update offering faster responses and less need to repeat yourself.
If this removes the post-command pause that leaves you wondering if your device heard you, it will be a big improvement.
Another big 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 it will now give adults a little help with mixology.
As for the rest of the Home app, there have been improvements to Nest thermostats to make replacement easier, and on iOS, controls for non-Nest thermostats – a feature already offered in the Android app. And there’s a new, simpler device setup for adding new elements to your smart home.
The update is available now and you can read the full release notes here.
Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds.
