With Gemini, Google’s smart home dreams are finally getting back on track

Here is a 207-word summary of the key points from the article: Google's smart home efforts have been struggling in recent years, with Google Home products largely ignored at the company's I/O conference. Google Assistant has also faced complaints about its spotty performance in basic smart home tasks. However, the company is now working to revitalize its smart home strategy with a new AI assistant called Gemini. Gemini for Home, set to launch in early access in October, promises to deliver a smarter voice assistant that better understands natural language queries, handles more complex smart home commands, and enables natural back-and-forth conversations. While details on paid vs. free features are still unclear, Gemini for Home sounds like a promising step forward. Google is also reportedly unveiling a new smart speaker to house the Gemini assistant, as well as a slate of updated Nest security cameras with 2K video resolution. These product refreshes have been a long time coming, with no major new Nest devices in nearly 4-5 years. The launch of these new smart home products in the coming weeks could help revive Google's smart home ambitions. However, the true test will be whether Gemini can reliably handle basic smart home tasks and integrate seamlessly into the Google Home ecosystem.