The new Google Home app is finally on its way and public preview sign-ups are live now, but the app is still only available for a few people. If you haven’t yet had a chance to use it, what do you still want to know?
What’s new in Google Home?
To offer some context, the new Google Home app is a complete redesign to the app we’ve known for a few years at this point. It’s what handles newer Nest camera products, Google Assistant products such as the Home Mini and Nest Mini, and some third-party smart home gear. You can also integrate smart home devices from thousands of smart home brands, including Philips Hue, Roborock, SimpliSafe, and many others, to use a single app to essentially control all of your smart home devices from Android, iOS, Wear OS, or any device with Google Assistant.
The revamped version of the Google Home app re-imagines how it works as a whole. Instead of simply presenting all of your smart home devices under a single list, as the older version did, the new look instead has five pages to make it easier to find what you’re looking for. It also opens up new features including deeper automations and a revamped media player. There’s also a complete redesign for Nest camera history, which is a massive improvement.
We went hands-on with the new Google Home experience last week to offer a first look at what it brings to the table, but odds are there’s still a fair amount you want to know. After all, Google has only rolled this app out to a handful of users to date.
So, we’re here to answer your questions! Drop a comment below and let us know what you want to know, and we’ll answer it to the best of our ability.
New Google Home app FAQ
Google is rolling out the new Google Home experience to users in a public preview program that is invite only. Users can request an invite to the public preview through Home app Settings > Public Preview > Request invite. There is no way to guarantee your account will be granted access.
Yes, the Google Home app technically replaces the Nest app. Google is not adding new products to the Nest app and the older app is now on “maintenance mode.” Older Nest products will be fully integrated into the Home app in time.
Google Home works with a lot of third-party devices, but it also integrates support for Nest products. Newer devices such as the Nest Cam (battery) and Nest Doorbell only work in the Home app, while older generations still rely mainly on the Nest app. As of November 2022, old Nest cameras do work in the Google Home app, but only for live feeds. History and settings are left in the Nest app, but Google has plans to change that over the course of 2023.
Technically, yes! The new Google Home app now has an app for PCs and other computers through a website. The site has very limited functionality, though. You can only view live feeds of Nest products, such as Nest Cam (battery) or Nest Doorbell. In time, the web app will be upgraded with a “Script Editor” for advanced home automation routines, and presumably much more later on.
More on Google Home:
- How to setup Google Home’s new device-triggered routines
- Hands-on: The new Google Home app mostly sticks the landing [Gallery]
- Google Home will work fully with older Nest cameras ‘next year’ – what you need to know
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