- Gemini for Home rollout has not been well received so far
- A video was released showing him performing some “absolutely fake” tasks.
- Others are frustrated by bugs and features locked behind a paywall.
The initial rollout of Gemini for Home isn’t going without a hitch, 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 paid for.
The video was uploaded by Adam Hrivnacky (via Android Authority) and shows various issues. This also highlights how seemingly inferior the Gemini experience is on smart devices compared to the Gemini Assistant on a smartphone.
For example, implying that the temperature is too cold doesn’t display the smart thermostat’s controls, but leads to a message that a Spotify account isn’t connected — just one of the “absolutely wrong” responses Hrivnacky notices during his demo.
Gemini on a Nest Hub also refuses to control smart lights, which Gemini on a phone is able to manage. Reminders and Tasks is 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 upgrade this service.
Pay for ongoing conversation
Look on it
As the YouTuber himself acknowledges, Gemini for Home is still in the early stages of deployment, and bugs may be expected. Still, it’s a rather frustrating experience for users right now, and it seems like some of the basic smart home tasks are still being handed over to Google Assistant when Gemini doesn’t know what to do.
Meanwhile, as PCWorld’s Ben Patterson pointed out, the move from Google Assistant to Gemini for Home also removes the ongoing conversation feature, which lets you ask follow-up questions without saying “hello Google” every time.
If you want a natural flow to your chats, you’ll need to pay for a Google Home Premium subscription, with prices starting at $10 / £8 / AU$15 per month. This replaces the old Nest Aware plan and includes extras like expanded video archives for cameras.
Making such a fundamental change to a smart home ecosystem was always likely to come with technical issues, but that’s not much fun for early access users who are currently switching – and Google needs to iron out these bugs quickly.
Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp Also.
