Google Home app is getting a major overhaul, preview it soon (updated)

Update, October 4, 2022 (4:20 p.m. ET): The article below incorrectly states that the preview for the new Google Home app will be rolling out today. However, Google informed us that its original disclosure documents were incorrect and that the rollout is not happening today, but will be “in the coming weeks.” We’ve updated the article slightly to reflect this new information.

Original article, October 4, 2022 (9:00 a.m. ET): The Google Home app is where you go for all things smart home. It’s had a few visual overhauls over the years, the most recent being in 2019. This update brought it to where it is now, with a list of device controls with a Material Design aesthetic.

Today, Google is announcing another major app redesign. Not only will it look and function differently, but it will also be more powerful and customizable for your specific smart home.

Google won’t be rolling out the new Google Home app for a while. However, you can give it a shot today (this will be rolling out “in the coming weeks”, according to updated information from Google) by signing up for the public preview, which is open in select areas. Just launch the Home app and find the public preview information. You can then give it a shot. If you don’t like it, you can always roll back until Google fixes the issues.

Google has revamped things in the app and introduced some visual changes. If you’re using Android 12 or Android 13, you won’t be surprised by the overall look of the app. It aligns strongly with the Material You Android 12 redesign received in 2021.

On the reorganization front, there are now three categories of controls:

• The spaces – These are customizable collections of various smart home gadgets. Currently, the Home app lists items by room: kitchen, bedroom, living room, etc. That’s great, but it’s quite limited in that you can’t easily control multiple devices in different rooms. Spaces allow you to categorize devices as you see fit. For example, you might have a baby monitor in one room and a camera in another room focused on where your child often plays. You can now put these two items in a Spaces category called “Baby”. Now you can easily see all baby-related smart products in one place.
• Favorites – This one doesn’t really need an explanation. You can now favorite certain devices that you use most often. This puts them front and center in the Google Home app for easier access.
• Media – At the bottom of your home feed, you will now see a media widget. This will automatically detect what media is happening in your home and give you the appropriate controls for that moment. If you’re listening to music on your speakers, there would be song controls. If you watch TV, there would be TV remotes. It should give you exactly what you need when you need it.

Google is also bringing some of the best features of the Nest app to Google Home. This includes a much better and more intuitive camera feed to see what’s going on around your home. There are now fewer taps to find what you need.

Finally, and this is huge, the Google Home app is coming to the web! This will allow you to view your camera feeds from a web browser instead of your phone. Therefore, there will also be a Wear OS-based Google Home app debuting alongside Google Pixel Watch.

In the Home app, as it currently exists, you have Routines to help with various conditions for multiple devices. For example, you might have a routine where you say, “I’m about to have dinner,” which dims the lights, turns on some music, and locks the front door. Routines may seem powerful, but they are actually quite limiting.

For example, Routines must be triggered either by a voice command or by one of Google’s predefined triggers. The new automations, however, will be much more open. These will allow you to create routines based on any trigger you can imagine across your range of smart devices.

For example, you can set up an automation triggered by a motion sensor outside your bedroom. When this sensor detects motion from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., it can turn on a bunch of lights, turn off others, and close blinds on the main floor of the house. This kind of granular control was previously unheard of in the Google Home app.

As if that weren’t enough for smart homeowners, Google promised that a full-featured script editor would arrive in 2023. This would allow you to code in automations throughout your home, which could finally bring the idea to full fruition. of a “smart” home.