The Google Nest Hub for $100 is a great bedside speaker for Google Assistant users. The 7-inch screen feels like a smartphone propped up on its side rather than a massive smart display, and it has sleep tracking technology built into it to track your sleep without needing any accessories on your body. Handy! Plus, no camera.
What About Alexa+?
Amazon has started rolling out the new and improved Alexa, named Alexa+, after announcing it in February, though it’s still not yet available to all users. This second generation of the Alexa voice assistant is more conversational, similar to an experience with AI assistants like ChatGPT, which isn’t a surprise since Alexa+ was built on generative AI. It does a better job answering a variety of different questions and responds quickly to all kinds of requests. Check out more in my hands-on with Alexa+.
It’s free in early access right now on many devices, including the Echo Show. Once it officially rolls out, Alexa+ will be available for $20 a month, or free if you have an Amazon Prime membership. While you likely have a membership if you added an Alexa device to your home, it’s a big jump from the previously free assistant (and both versions will have less privacy).
Alexa+ will also require that all voice recordings be sent to Amazon to be processed, and Amazon’s changing its features for recordings with regular Alexa to go to Amazon, too. There was a “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” privacy feature that you could select to have voice requests processed locally, but that feature was killed in March. The privacy change will affect all users, whether or not you sign up for Alexa+ and no matter if you’re using a compatible device or not.
What About Gemini for Google Home?
Google announced that Gemini for Home, the new version of its voice assistant, is rolling out in early access to existing Google Home users. It’ll eventually replace the current Google Assistant entirely, and is currently slated to roll out to almost all of Google’s devices. One of the notable exceptions is the Pixel Tablet; otherwise, Google’s existing hardware is pretty well reflected for what Gemini for Home will reach.
Unlike Alexa+, this new assistant will always be free. However, Google is changing its camera subscription, Nest Aware, to become a subscription for Gemini for Home that will have two tiers, Standard ($10 a month) and Advanced ($20 a month), to replace the Nest Aware and Nest Aware Plus subscription. This new subscription model will extend beyond cameras and include some advanced smart assistant features, including Gemini Live, which is a more conversational chat mode you can activate on a smart speaker, and automation features you won’t get on the base assistant. The Advanced mode will also let you ask Gemini for video history, get AI notifications and descriptions, and a customized summary at the end of the day called Home Brief. The Standard Plan will have 30 days of video event history plus intelligent alerts for its cameras, while the Advanced plan will have 60 days and 24/7 video history.
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