Google has announced a major overhaul of its Home app, addressing years of complaints about frequent crashes, sluggish performance, and scattered features. At a Wednesday briefing, the tech giant revealed a redesigned app built for speed, reliability, and deeper integration with Nest devices, alongside new capabilities powered by its Gemini AI assistant. The update marks a significant step as Google prepares to launch its next-generation Google Home smart speaker in 2026.
Anish Kattukaran, chief product officer at Google Home and Nest, admitted the app’s shortcomings, noting that performance was the company’s first priority before introducing AI. According to Google, the results include a 70 per cent faster startup, 80 per cent fewer crashes, and more than 100 performance updates in the past year. The redesigned app now supports over 800 million devices from more than 50,000 manufacturers, with Nest gadgets such as thermostats, cameras, smoke alarms, doorbells, and locks now fully centralised.
For Nest cameras, live views are said to load 30 per cent faster, playback failures have dropped by 40 per cent, and scrolling through footage runs at six times the previous frame rate. Notifications also come with animated previews, while the app’s new three-tab navigation — Home, Activity, and Automation — makes controls more fluid. AI features powered by Gemini include a “Home Brief” daily summary, “Ask Home” for natural language queries, and AI-generated descriptions for camera events. However, some of these functions will require a $10 per month Google Home Premium subscription.
The company also previewed a $99 smart speaker powered by Gemini, set to launch in spring 2026 in multiple colours including Porcelain, Hazel, Berry, and Jade. Designed with a 3D-knitted fabric casing to cut material waste, the device features 360-degree audio, noise suppression, surround-sound pairing, and a glowing light ring to signal interactions. Google confirmed that the redesigned Home app, with its AI integration, will begin rolling out globally from October 1, 2025, with early access available through the app’s settings