Google Home app gets an ‘Inbox’ and redesigned light controls

Abner Li | May 4 2023 - 7:40 am PT

The Google Home app this week started rolling out version 3.0 and changes to navigation by introducing an “Inbox,” while also redesigning lighting controls.

Google Home Inbox

A server-side change for those in the Google Home Public Preview adds a “notification bell” icon to the top of the Favorites tab. Its location differs depending on what version of the app you’re running (more on that below), but the final spot should be to the left of your profile picture. Tapping opens an “Inbox” feed that by all accounts is the old “Activity” tab.

This comes as Google Home is changing the Activity tab so that it just shows what was previously the “History” view.

On version 3.0+ of the app, Google has changed the bell icon in the bottom bar to better reflect the new purpose, though it’s keeping the “Activity” name. (The bottom bar change has not yet occurred on version 2.67, with 3.0 not yet widely available on Android.)

Google Home lighting redesign

Meanwhile, a redesign of Google Home lighting controls is rolling out with version 3.1, which is currently in the dogfood channel. The circular on/off button surrounded by a ring for brightness has been replaced by a large pill that acts as a slider, which is arguably not as obvious as the previous approach.

The key change is more color controls with a grid of presets appearing below, while a FAB slides up a sheet for Temperature (bar) and Color (circular picker). These fine grain controls are something people have been asking for quite some time, and was teased by the product team last year.

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