‘Hey Google, is there a car in the driveway?
Google Home chief Anish Kattukaran announced several updates to the smart home platform addressing numerous annoyances and idiosyncrasies. One significant new feature is the introduction of “Live Search” for cameras.
Now, instead of only recognizing past events, the system can understand live camera feeds, allowing questions like “Hey Google, is there a car in the driveway?” This feature requires a subscription to the Advanced plan of Google Home Premium, costing $20/month or $200/year.
Gemini for Home is also utilizing updated models, enhancing the quality and accuracy of responses to general inquiries and assisting in the playback of newly-released songs.
Gemini now has improved contextual understanding, enhancing how it targets smart devices. For example, saying “turn off the kitchen” will specifically target the lights in that room, instead of all smart devices. Commands such as “turn off all the lights” will now apply to the current location, rather than devices at another location like a secondary home.
For the complete list of changes, check the release notes.