- Google has a new smart home subscription package
- It’s called Google Home Premium and there are two levels
- You get extra gemini -access and more video features
Google Home is getting a great renewal today with new devices and new Gemini AI integrations, and Google is also taking the opportunity to update its Smart Home subscription offer -now called Google Home Premium, not Nest Aware.
Yours for $ 10 a month or $ 100 a year (default level) or $ 20 a month or $ 200 a year (the advanced level), the new plans match the old plans in terms of their pricing and in many of the features and perks you get in return. You also get the benefits as part of a Google AI Pro or Google AI Ultra subscription, but not a standard Google One Basic or Premium Plan – which is a shame that Nest Aware was included in the latter.
We are still waiting for confirmation of international pricing, but if Google also holds parity with Nest Aware and Nest Aware Plus outside the US, you pay £ 8 a month / £ 80 a year or £ 16 a month / £ 160 a year in the UK for Google Home Premium Standard and Google Home Premium Advanced respectively.
In Australia, Nest Aware was set to AU $ 15 a month / $ 150 a year and Nest Aware Plus costs AU $ 30 a month or AU $ 300 a year – so presumably these prices will be, but we will update this article if Google makes changes in pricing as well as branding.
Video History and Gemini Live
As with the current packages, one of the primary benefits is video history: as well as being able to see the living feeds that come from your home security cameras, you can also look back on archived recordings associated with movement events.
You get 30 days history with the standard plan and 60 days with the advanced plan. With the latter you also have access to 24/7 video archives that are stored for up to 10 days – so you can look back on any clip from any time you want. Here is a full overview of the differences between the standard and advanced plans.
Then there is Gemini Live, which is the more natural, intelligent and conversation version of Gemini that you may have tried on your phone. While all Google’s new Smart Home devices get the standard version of Gemini, the advanced Gemini Live functionality requires a subscription.
Another perk that you can benefit from is the Intelligent Alerts feature, which means your cameras will tell you what they see – packs, your neighbors and so on – so you don’t have to control so many messages. In addition, you also get sound detection so your speakers can warn you about the sounds of fracture glass or smoke alarms.
Automizations, summary and search
A Google Home Premium subscription also gives you access to easy automations: You just tell the app what you want to happen (so something like “turn off all gang lights when everyone has left the house”). Emergency calls from the Google Home app are also included.
The advanced plan is twice as large as the price in the US, and in addition to the extra video archiving you get, there are other additional perks as well. You can get Gemini to search through your camera and doorbell story for something specific, which can save you many minutes of manual rolling.
You also get event descriptions associated with Alarms with Google Home Premium Advanced, which is meant to give you a better idea of what’s happening – so you are in a moment if you need to worry. Finally, Gemini also gives you a daily summary of everything that has been discovered by each camera.
It all looks like the old Nest Aware plans, but with some extra Gemini -Smarts included -so it makes sense that the same features are also included if you have signed up for a Google AI subscription.
