Alphabet Inc.’s Google introduced a range of new Nest-branded hardware on Wednesday, just a day after Amazon.com Inc. held its own product showcase, as both companies vie to more deeply integrate artificial intelligence throughout the smart home.

The latest Google devices include a pair of video cameras, a new doorbell and a compact speaker that plays sound in every direction. The three camera-based products — the third-generation Nest Cam Indoor ($100), second-gen Nest Cam Outdoor ($150) and third-gen Nest Doorbell ($180) — are available now, while the $99 Google Home Speaker won’t ship until spring 2026.

Google tried to justify the speaker’s delayed release as a way to prioritize its existing device users. “Our top priority is rolling out Gemini for Home in early access to the tens of millions of speakers and smart displays already in your homes,” it said in a statement. Amazon’s new Echo speakers, which run the company’s latest Alexa+ software, will be on shelves much sooner, launching across October and November.

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All three of the new Nest cameras feature sharper 2K video resolution — up from 1080p — and record high dynamic range, or HDR, video. They also now provide a wider perspective: The Nest Cams capture a 152-degree field of view, while the new Nest Doorbell can see a 166-degree diagonal view, which is helpful for including items like packages or food deliveries left on the ground. The added resolution allows for more precise zooming and cropping into the video frame.

Each of the cameras offers improved low-light performance, meaning they’ll stay in full-color mode for longer before switching over to infrared night vision. Out of the box, users can access six hours’ worth of event history, which includes 10-second video clips of whatever triggered the recording. Subscribing to Google Home Advanced unlocks a maximum of 60 days of event clips and 10 days of 24/7 continuous video history.

New cameras from Amazon’s Ring unit introduced on Tuesday offer 4K recording. In contrast, Google said it believes 2K is the right balance of quality and bandwidth.

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The real focus of this new product wave is showcasing Gemini for Home, Google’s AI platform that will be replacing Assistant as the brains for countless smart home devices. As part of this push, the Google Home app for Android and iOS has been redesigned to be faster, more reliable and reduce crashes by 80%, according to the search giant.

This revamped app is based around a three-tab interface, with dedicated sections for Home, Activity and Automations. Home is where you’ll find a central overview of your smart home; Activity offers a single view of everything that happened in a home; and Automations is the place to edit and manage routines like turning appliances on or off automatically.

Within Google Home is a new “Ask Home” feature that’s persistently available throughout the app. Google describes it as a natural-language command center for the smartphone, and the aim was to make controlling gadgets like lights, thermostats, blinds or cameras more conversational. Gemini is also capable of handling requests with exceptions, such as asking the system to turn off every light except for the one in the bedroom.

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Notifications from cameras are more useful and include a greater level of detail about whatever was recorded. If you’d prefer to avoid being inundated with constant event notifications, a new Home Brief feature can summarize several hours worth of activity into a single rundown. And you can ask questions like “what happened to the vase?” and Gemini will find the recording that reveals the answer.

The most promising new features all require a Google Home Advanced subscription, which costs $20 per month or $200 annually. A cheaper $10-a-month (or $100-per-year) plan offers 30 days of event history, intelligent alerts (like package detection) and access to Gemini Live, but it lacks several of the newest capabilities.

Gemini Live will be available across speakers and displays, letting users have extended conversations with Google’s chatbot. This can be done with a “Hey Google, let’s chat” command. Like other platforms where Gemini is available, you can go back and forth with it in free-flowing conversations and do things like plan trips, ask for meals that can be made with ingredients on hand, or have the chatbot tell a story.

Google is bringing Gemini for Home to a lengthy list of past products dating back a decade. Even long-discontinued speakers like the Google Home Max from 2017 will be updated to add compatibility. But initially, it’s going to be an opt-in experience — matching how Amazon started rolling out Alexa+ earlier this year. Speakers and smart displays will be first up in the beta program later this month.

Welch writes for Bloomberg.