When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. I switched to Gemini for Home. Here's the Google Assistant feature I miss You'll need to pay up to get this key Google Assistant feature back. I recently made the switch to Gemini on my Google smart speakers and displays, and for the most part, I'm liking it. Gemini is chatty without being a blabbermouth, and it capably controls my smart home while also delivering detailed weather reports and answers to my other queries.

Time is running out for Google Assistant as Gemini prepares to take its place on mobile and--eventually--smart devices. Now Google is announcing another round of features that Google Assistant is soon to lose. None of the about-to-be-yanked features are all that critical, but the move is yet another sign that Google Assistant is going by the wayside. The nixed features were spotted by 9to5Google on a support page that lists other deprecated Google Assistant features, including more than a dozen that were dropped early last year. Among the chopped Google Assistant features that owners of Nest smart speakers and displays might miss is Family Bell, which allowed users to create reminder bells for family events such as breakfast or dinner time.

Nest is adding Google Assistant functionality to Nest Guard, the base station for its Nest Secure home security system. The feature is rolling out from today through a firmware update, and it will enable owners to ask questions and get answers through the device--the same way it can be used on a smartphone or Google Home smart speaker. The announcement marks the first time Nest, which is owned by Google, has disclosed that there is a microphone in the Nest Guard unit. The specifications page on Nest's website doesn't mention a microphone alongside all the other sensors on the device. A Google spokesperson confirmed the internal microphone isn't enabled by default and the Google Assistant function needs to be affirmatively enabled by a user.

There are times when you know exactly what you want to watch. So when you're ready to launch a Stranger Things binge session, you can tell Google to do exactly that. Similar specificity can be performed with Spotify and Google Play Music playlists, albums, or titles in your Google Play Movies & TV catalogue. Sometimes I've found the program will start streaming right away, while other times it'll take you to the product screen and you'll still need to press play. Such is the inconsistency that happens at times when living in the future.