Google’s mission to update smart home devices from the classic Google Assistant to the new Gemini AI has for now been limited to their own first party Google/Nest hardware, but that might finally be changing. A new report shows the AI popping up on a third-party Lenovo smart display, giving hope to owners of non-Google hardware.
What’s happening with the Google Home Assistant to Gemini update
Recently, a Reddit user spotted a very interesting message on their Lenovo Smart Display. The prompt read, “Update in progress. Check back soon to get started with Gemini for Home.” This is a big deal because, so far, the Gemini for Home rollout has been a purely first-party affair, limited to a select list of Google’s own devices and only for some users in the US.It’s a very different approach from Google’s usual strategy. The company has been happy to put its core Gemini features on other Android phones and even on iOS. But for the smart home, it’s been a walled garden… until now, maybe.
Current Gemini for Home device support
To be clear, here is the official list of supported devices Google has shared so far:
- Google Nest Hub (2nd gen)
- Google Nest Hub Max
- Google Nest Hub (1st gen)
- Google Home Max
- Google Nest Mini (2nd gen)
- Google Home Mini (1st gen)
- Google Nest Audio
- Google Home
- Google Nest Wifi point
Seeing the Lenovo display get this prompt is a huge departure from that list. While Google hasn’t officially announced Lenovo support, they did state in a community post that they were “working with third-party speaker companies” to bring Gemini to more devices. This might be the first public sign of that work.
Why this is a bigger deal than it looks
This is important because of the competition. For years, Google’s strategy with Assistant was to get it everywhere, just like Amazon does with Alexa. You can’t swing a cat without hitting a device that has Alexa built-in. Google tried to follow suit, partnering with brands like Lenovo and JBL to make third-party smart displays.And then… Google just seemed to forget about them. Those devices felt left behind, getting updates late, if at all. When Gemini launched only on Google’s own hardware, it felt like the final nail in the coffin for those third-party products.This potential rollout signals that Google might not be abandoning those users after all. It could breathe new life into hardware that many people (rightfully) assumed was on a fast track to the tech graveyard. This is Google finally catching up with its own original strategy.
A long-time coming
Previously, Google’s smart home strategy has felt all over the place. Pushing partners to build hardware and then seemingly abandoning them on a software level is just a bad look.
I’m cautiously optimistic. I want Gemini to be on all my Assistant-enabled devices, regardless of who made the plastic shell. It’s the only way they can seriously compete with Alexa’s total ubiquity. An AI-powered refresh could be a massive upgrade for these older, slower devices.
The big question is what version of Gemini we’ll get. Will it be the full-featured AI, or a “lite” version? And will premium features like Gemini Live, which require a subscription, even be an option on this older hardware? We’re definitely keeping a close eye on this one.
