Google has announced an updated range of Nest devices overnight, including new cameras, doorbell and a new Google Home speaker. The announcement also includes a new Google Home app which has been redesigned to support Gemini, as well as launching Google Home Premium, an update to the Nest Aware video backup service.

Nest Cameras

There are three new wired Nest devices, the 2nd gen Nest Cam Outdoor, as well as the 3rd gen Nest Cam Indoor and 3rd gen Nest Doorbell, which have all been updated with 2K resolution HDR sensors, a bump from the FullHD of the previous generation.

The sensors on the Nest Indoor and Outdoor cams will capture more, with the sensors able to capture a 152° diagonal field of view – a bump from 135° on the previous models, while the Nest Doorbell will capture even more, with a s a 1:1 aspect ratio and a 166-degree diagonal view, giving you the ability to see packages on the doorstep, or even visitor from head to toe. 

The Nest Indoor and Outdoor Cameras will also add H.265 encoding for video, which should result in smaller file sizes in higher quality. 

The new cameras can also capture and store double the amount of video, with Google saying these new cameras can capture ‘up to 6 hours of event video previews. Captures and stores video clips up to 10 seconds of activity within the last 6 hours’ – and more with the new Google Home Premium service.

In terms of availability, the 3rd gen Nest Doorbell –  much like the previous wired only model – will unfortunately not set to arrive in Australia, while the 3rd gen Nest Cam Indoor and 2nd gen Nest Cam Outdoor are available to order from today. The Nest Outdoor Cam (2nd Gen) is priced at $239.99 AUD while the Nest Cam (Indoor) is priced at $189, with both available to order now.

Google Home

It’s been a loooong time since we saw a new speaker, and the new Google Home speaker – set to launch in Autumn next year – has been designed with a focus on the speaker being the ultimate audio experience for Gemini in the home.

This neat little speaker was teased in the launch video for the Pixel 10 series last month, and is built for more natural conversations based on Gemini’s language processing ability, offering more fluid interactions. It also has a glowing light ring that shows when Gemini is listening, thinking, responding and more. 

The Google Home Speaker will bring 360° audio, letting you hear what’s playing no matter where it’s placed in the room.

Google is also teasing a long awaited feature: support for cinematic surround sound. This means you can pair two of these Google Home Speakers with your Google TV Streamer to get surround sound. 

You will still be able to add the Google Home speaker to your audio groups, or pair them as stereo speakers. 

Of course with Gemini on board, everyone wants to know about privacy, and like their previous speakers the new Google Home will have a physical mute switch to make sure you can cut it off when you want to.

The speaker will launch in three colours: Jade, Berry and Porcelain, though we don’t know what options Google will bring to Australia when it launches next year for $$179 AUD – and you can get notified when it’s available by heading to the Google Store.

Google Home and Gemini

Google is also launching a new, simplified Google Home app to support the new Nest Cameras, as well as introducing Gemini into the mix to offer AI assisted summaries and notifications. 

The new Google Home app will now have a simplified three tab design, as well as performing better with faster search for devices and loading camera feeds.

The new, simplified layout in the Google Home app is now three simple tabs: Home, Activity and Automations, with the new layout making it easier to get to key areas of your home. 

  • The Home Tab: This is your consolidated overview and access point for your whole home. We’ve also introduced new gestures that make it much more fluid to use with a single hand, letting you easily swipe between your Favorites, all devices and dedicated dashboards without having to switch tabs.
  • The Activity Tab: This is now the single history for everything that happens in your home, with events from all your connected first-party and third-party devices. This is where you’ll find Home Brief to get a quick summary of your day.
  • The Automations Tab: This tab now features a new carousel at the top that shows you upcoming automations about to run in your home. For those who want to go deeper, we’ve completely rebuilt the editor as a fast, native experience on both iOS and Android. This unlocks powerful capabilities like creating one-time automations or using new conditional starters so a routine only runs if someone is home.

The Home app will also have Gemini working in the background, offering more descriptive and accurate alerts in your notifications, with video previews attached. You’ll also now be able to search for events by asking Home things like ‘what happened to the vase in the living room’ to see a description and a video clip. 

You’ll also get summaries of your daily footage in Home Brief, found on the new Activity Tab in the Home app, which will cut through all the noise and show you the important events that happened around your home during the day.

The new Google Home app update will start rolling out to users from today says Google. 

Google Home Premium

Of course with a video system, Google offers off-device storage for your video, previously through their Nest Aware service, which has now been rebranded as Google Home Premium – with some of the Gemini for Home speakers hidden behind the more expensive option.

Previously Google offered Nest Aware and Nest Aware Plus, with the services offering up to 30 days of event video history for $150 a year, or 60 days of event video history + 10 days of 24/7 continuous video history for $300 a year – the pricing is the same, however the branding is different and you now get Gemini for Home camera features on the higher end plan.

Existing Nest Aware customers are automatically being switched to the new equivalent Home Premium Standard or Home Premium Advanced Plans, so if you’re already using the service it automatically switches.