TL;DR Gemini for Home’s official list of supported devices only covers first-party Google Home and Nest hardware.
Users are seeing Gemini replace Google Assistant on speaker and display models from Insignia and Lenovo.
The new models gaining Gemini support were released in 2018 and 2019, and have been discontinued.
Gemini for Home is rolling out in limited fashion for early access testers, but only officially for first-party Google Home and Nest hardware. Google’s list of supported devices includes every Home and Nest speaker and display released since 2016, including the original Google Home. While there’s no official word on Gemini support for third-party speakers and displays that support Google Assistant, the upgraded AI assistant made its way to the Lenovo Smart Display 10 in November.
Now, there’s more evidence of Gemini replacing Google Assistant on third-party speakers and displays. The Gemini for Home update recently appeared for the Insignia Voice Speaker, a budget smart speaker released in 2018 with Google Assistant, according to a video from Reddit user bicyclemom. Notably, the Insignia Voice Speaker is discontinued and no longer receives updates.
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In fact, as Android Authority reader danwalshapts previously pointed out, the Insignia Voice Speaker actually lost features over the years — iHeartRadio integration no longer works — which put Gemini support in doubt. The Reddit video confirms that Best Buy’s in-house Google Assistant speaker indeed supports Gemini, and that bodes well for other third-party speaker and display models.
Some users are also seeing Gemini replace Google Assistant on the Lenovo Smart Clock, a tiny smart display designed for your nightstand that debuted in 2019. So far, we’ve seen reports of Gemini for Home appearing on multiple third-party smart speakers and displays from Insignia and Lenovo. That may be a sign that more third-party Assistant hardware will get the bump to Gemini in the future.
The switch from Google Assistant to Gemini won’t be obvious, especially on older smart speakers. To check if your device has been upgraded to Gemini, ask it “Hey Google, who are you?” The device will respond saying it is either Google Assistant or Gemini, confirming whether it received the Gemini for Home boost.
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