Google just rolled out its biggest Google Home app overhaul yet, completely rebuilt around Gemini AI with dramatic performance improvements. The redesigned app loads up to 70% faster on Android devices and crashes 80% less than previous versions, while unifying all Nest features under one roof. This marks Google's most aggressive push to make AI-powered smart home control mainstream, directly challenging Amazon's Alexa ecosystem.
Google just delivered what might be the most significant smart home app update of 2024. The completely redesigned Google Home app, announced today by Director of Product Management Bryant Herron-Patmon, represents a fundamental shift in how the company approaches AI-powered home automation.
The performance gains alone are staggering. According to Google's official blog post, the new app loads over 70% faster on some Android devices, with app crashes down nearly 80% from just months ago. For users with security cameras, the improvements are even more dramatic - live views now load 30% faster with a 40% decrease in playback failures.
"An assistant as powerful as Gemini for Home needs an app built to match," Herron-Patmon explained in the announcement. "Based on your feedback, the Google Home app was rebuilt with three primary goals: Make it faster, more reliable and complete."
The redesign consolidates what were previously separate experiences. Users no longer need to juggle between the Google Home and Nest apps - everything from Nest Thermostat models since 2015 to smoke and CO emergency alerts for Nest Protect now lives in one unified interface. The company has also dramatically improved support for older Nest cameras and doorbells, with higher frame rates making event scanning feel more fluid.
But the real game-changer is how deeply Gemini AI has been woven throughout the experience. The new three-tab layout puts Gemini's capabilities front and center, starting with the Home tab that serves as a consolidated command center. Users can now swipe between favorites, devices, and dashboards with single-hand gestures - a clear nod to mobile-first design principles.
The Activity tab creates what Google calls "the single history for everything that happens in your home," aggregating events from both first-party and third-party connected devices. This feeds into Home Brief, which provides AI-generated daily summaries of household activity.
Perhaps most impressive is the enhanced camera intelligence. Instead of generic "person detected" alerts, cameras powered by Gemini can now provide contextual descriptions like "Robin walking with flowers." Event notifications on both Android and iOS expand to show rich, animated previews directly from the lock screen.
