Back in June, Google introduced three new voices for the upcoming Gemini-Assistant revamp for the Nest Mini and Audio. Ahead of launch, Google has renamed most of them, but they otherwise appear to be the same.
These are the name changes to Gemini-Google Assistant voices if you’re in the Public Preview program:
| Old | New | Description |
| Aloe | Bloom | Calm • Mid-range voice |
| Oxalis | Bright • Mid-range voice | |
| Fern | ||
| Verbena | Magnolia | Calm • Deeper voice |
| Ivy | Violet | British accent • Mid-range voice |
| Jade | Pothos | Engaging • Mid-range voice |
| Eucalyptus | Calathea | Australian Accent • Higher voice |
| Yarrow | Warm • Deeper voice | |
| Croton | Smooth • Deeper voice | |
| Pilea | Amaryllis | Bright • Higher voice |
Six of the 10 voices have been renamed. They remain botanically themed, with “Violet” having a better connotation than (poison) “Ivy.”
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Similarly, people are probably more familiar with “Magnolia” than “Verbena. That said, I’d think “Eucalyptus” has higher awareness than “Calathea.”
Top comment by Brian Hadfield
I wish we could keep the classic Assistant voice. I like her voice over all the Gemini voices, which seem like they're all a bunch of smooth-talking try hards. Lol. Seriously though, the tone and pitch of Assistant is just right.
There is one change to the description with “Fern” now offering a “Warm” voice instead of “Bright.” To my ear, all the voices sound the same, and you can listen to both sets.
Last week, Google teased “major improvements” for Google Assistant in light of reliability complaints. This is most likely in reference to Gemini replacing Google Assistant. Beyond the switch to an LLM approach, it seems increasingly likely that the Assistant branding will go away entirely. For a moment, it seemed that Google was keeping around that brand for Home devices, but that changed now that “Gemini” is coming to Google TV instead of a Google Assistant upgraded with the Gemini models.
These upgrades are said to be coming “in the fall” after public-facing testing began last year.
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More on Google Assistant:
- What’s new in Google Home 3.34, 3.35, & 3.36: Camera updates + bug fixes
- Google Home rolling out fix for issues with light controls via voice commands
- Gemini app rolling out Google Home Broadcast support
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