Stephen Schenck / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google has upgraded Gemini for Home to Gemini 3.1 for early access users.
- The assistant should now be better at complex, multi-step requests involving lists, calendars, reminders, and alarms.
- There’s also a fix for the confusing AM/PM alarm mix-ups.
Last week, Google told us Gemini for Home was getting noticeably faster and better at handling everyday requests. That was obviously welcome news, but we never know exactly how much has been tweaked between these iterative upgrades. However, Google is announcing another upgrade for the voice assistant today, and this one is certainly more than a bit of fine-tuning under the hood — its latest Gemini model is now powering Gemini for Home.
Google just confirmed the Home upgrade to Gemini 3.1 in a press release, alongside its latest release notes. The update has been fully rolled out to Gemini for Home voice assistant early access users. Google describes Gemini 3.1 as its most advanced model yet, and says the upgrade should make the assistant smarter, more capable, and better at handling requests that previously needed several separate commands.
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Firstly, Gemini for Home should now be better at complex, multi-step voice commands, such as adding items to one list while checking off items from another in the same breath. One example given in the release notes is: “Add ingredients for paella to my shopping list and check off the spices from my pantry list.” Google says it’s also better at identifying similar list names, so it should be less likely to create duplicates.
Calendar and alarm management should also be smoother. Google says Gemini for Home can now better handle recurring and all-day events, answer questions about upcoming events, move them around, and set recurring reminders. Google also mentions a fix for AM/PM mix-ups when setting alarms, which is undoubtedly a reference to the recent Nest Hub bug in which the device verbally confirmed some PM alarms as AM alarms, even though the alarm itself still appeared to be set correctly.
As is the case at this stage, this is still one for Gemini for Home voice assistant early access users rather than every Google Home user. But after a somewhat shaky start for Gemini in the smart home space, it’s good to see Google bringing its latest model into the Home experience this quickly.
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