The smart home wars just got a massive AI upgrade. Both Amazon and Google dropped their biggest smart home announcements in years this week, with AI-powered voice assistants, new displays, and 4K security cameras hitting the market. Jennifer Pattison Tuohy from The Verge spent a week testing the gear in New York and she's sharing everything in a live AMA.
The smart home industry just witnessed its biggest shakeup in years. This week, both Amazon and Google unveiled their most ambitious smart home launches yet, centered around AI-powered voice assistants that promise to make your connected devices actually, well, smart.
Amazon fired the first shot Tuesday with a complete refresh of its Echo lineup. The company's new Alexa Plus voice assistant represents the biggest upgrade to Alexa since its 2014 debut. Unlike the rigid command-response format of classic Alexa, Alexa Plus holds conversations, understands context, and can manage complex smart home scenarios without users having to memorize specific phrases.
The hardware getting Alexa Plus includes refreshed Echo Show smart displays and Echo smart speakers, designed from the ground up to handle the processing demands of large language models. Amazon also expanded its Ring security ecosystem with new 4K cameras and a standout feature that uses AI to help find missing pets through neighborhood camera networks.
Google responded Wednesday with what might be an even bigger announcement. The search giant is finally bringing its powerful Gemini AI directly into smart homes through Gemini for Home, effectively replacing the aging Google Assistant with something far more capable. Early demonstrations show Gemini understanding complex, multi-step requests and providing contextual responses that go beyond simple device control.
The Google hardware offensive includes new Nest security cameras and a video doorbell, plus a partnership with Walmart for that could democratize smart home security. Perhaps most intriguingly, Google teased a arriving next year that's built specifically for Gemini integration.
