The switch from Google Assistant to Gemini might kill Nest speakers and displays

Google Home and Nest speakers and displays as we know them may be doomed if the company's recent Google Assistant deprecations are any indication. Google Assistant is rapidly losing features as Google puts more time and effort into Gemini, its AI-based chatbot and assistant. Just this week, Google announced plans to remove seven more features from Google Assistant in the future, following up the 18 features that were lost in early 2024.

As such, it's not an understatement to call the Google Assistant a shell of its former self. That isn't as much of an issue on smartphones and tablets, as Gemini serves as a better virtual assistant in many cases. When Gemini falls short, Android phones and tablets can take advantage of Assistant extensions to fill the gap. In fact, rumors point to Gemini replacing the Google Assistant on smartwatches via a future Wear OS update, too.

There's just one problem — Gemini can't replace the Google Assistant on the smart home devices that need it most. Google hasn't refreshed its smart displays, including the second-generation Nest Hub and the Nest Hub Max, since 2021. It hasn't updated the Google Nest Mini smart speaker since 2019. That reality means that the affordable and aging Nest smart speakers and displays could be left without critical Assistant features and unable to run Gemini effectively.

Google quietly set a precedent for how it plans to get Gemini on smart home products last year, and it's bad news for fans of Nest hardware. The company completely killed the affordable Chromecast lineup in favor of the $100 Google TV Streamer, which will soon get Gemini Live and other AI features.

With Google seemingly winding down Assistant and putting a greater focus on Gemini, I'm worried that the Nest lineup could share a similar fate. The company could shift toward more expensive (and powerful) smart home controllers, like the Pixel Tablet, which can better handle Gemini. That would be a mistake because Google Assistant is the perfect piece of software to run on affordable and lightweight smart home products.

Google Nest speakers and displays are borderline useless without Assistant features

Due to the age of Google Nest speakers and displays, they're starting to slow down, and features are beginning not to work as expected. In some instances, the platform has felt like an afterthought. Earlier this year, a bug caused Nest devices to fail to answer basic requests, and it took weeks for users to get a fix.

On top of that, Google is actively killing key Google Assistant features. Aside from the 18 features axed last year, the company recently updated its support document with seven new deprecations. For instance, you won't be able to change photo frame settings or ambient screen settings with your voice anymore. While you can still do this manually on your Nest display, that kind of defeats the point of having a voice-equipped smart screen.

Some of the more egregious removals include the ability to get daily updates from your Google Assistant, such as requests like "Send me the weather every day." You also won't be able to favorite, share, or use your voice to ask about photos that were taken. Put simply, Nest hardware doesn't just lack new features — it's also consistently losing basic functionality and features.

It's understandable that Google doesn't want to spread itself too thin by working on Assistant and Gemini simultaneously, but it should consider all of the products in its portfolio. While Pixel phones and tablets are getting better by the day with new Gemini features, Nest speakers and displays are seemingly getting worse by the day.

Android Central reached out to Google regarding its plans for current and future Nest devices, as well as the state of Google Assistant, but the company did not get back to us in time for publication.

Gemini won't solve the problem, it'll make it worse

If the option to switch to Gemini was available today for Nest hardware, Google's recent Assistant feature removals would be defensible. However, it isn't, and I'm skeptical that Gemini is the solution to this problem. It's unlikely that a Gemini-based assistant could run on older Nest speakers and displays, leaving them stuck with a Google Assistant bleeding basic features.

The transition to Gemini might kill Nest smart home products as we know them. Existing hardware would almost certainly become less useful, as the Google Assistant has lost 25 features since the start of 2024. New hardware, if released, would probably be priced higher than current Nest speakers and displays to accommodate AI processing demands.

Historically, the great thing about the Google Nest family of products was that you could outfit your entire home with speakers, cameras, and displays without breaking the bank. A Nest Mini speaker costs $50 at retail, and a Nest Hub display costs $100 at retail.

Google needs to upgrade Nest smart speakers and displays, like it upgraded the Nest Learning Thermostat and created the Google TV Streamer. Many of the devices in the Nest lineup are half a decade old, or older.

With that being said, it should be careful about creating new Nest speakers and displays that are more premium, more powerful, and more pricey. If the future of Nest hardware is Gemini-powered products sold at a premium price, the brand's identity would be drastically changed.