Nest has been absorbed by Google's hardware team, but that hasn't slowed it down. The previously announced Assistant integration for the Cam IQ is rolling out today, and that's not all. Nest has also announced a number of improvements to Nest Aware, including a cheaper plan option.

We already knew that Google Assistant was coming to the Cam IQ, but it'd be understandable if you forgot. Nest announced that way back in September. This is not Assistant integration in the traditional sense, where you can issue commands to a camera via Assistant. The Cam IQ can actually run Google Assistant. If you choose to opt into the new update, the Cam IQ essentially becomes a Google Home. You can control your Nest devices via the Cam IQ of course, but it also has most of the other Google Assistant features (audio streaming isn't supported).

In addition to Assistant, Nest is making some changes to Nest Aware. Subscribers will now have person alerts in activity zones. The Cam IQ also gains the ability to merge duplicate familiar faces in your photo collection. Nest Aware is getting more affordable as well. The $10/10-day and $30/30-day monthly plans are still available, but there's a new cheaper tier. For $5 per month, your camera will save video to the cloud for five days.

PRESS RELEASE