Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The Google Home web app now features a “Devices” tab, allowing control of more smart devices.
- This update is currently available to users in the Google Home Public Preview program.
- The new controls include lights, locks, and thermostats, but not media devices, though more device types and controls are promised to be coming soon
Don’t want to miss the best from Android Authority?
In June, Google announced that Google Home on the web will let you control more devices. The company didn’t mention the exact scope of what’s coming, but it said that users will be able to adjust their lights, set the temperature, control media, and more from their browser. These features were said to be “coming soon” to the Google Home Public Preview program for the web app, but the company didn’t commit to a timeline.
In the image Google shared at the time, we can see views for various indoor and outdoor cameras and controls for lights and thermostats.
9to5Google spotted that the Google Home app’s Public Preview program now has this functionality. Users who are enrolled in the program will see the new Devices tab alongside the existing Cameras and Automations tab. Devices will be categorized into the rooms you have set them up in within Google Home.
Within a room, you will be able to see your devices, with a tap turning the device on and off, just like you can on mobile. You can adjust the brightness of lights by dragging on the button, but there’s no color picker. The report notes that Nest Thermostats have a plus and minus button for controlling temperature, and the overflow menu has more options. There are also controls for smart locks, smart plugs, and cameras. Only media devices like speakers, displays, and Chromecasts cannot be controlled, even though they may appear in the grid.
The preview program notes that more device types and controls are coming soon, so keep your fingers crossed that the web app eventually gets all key functionality. I would love to control my smart home entirely from the web app, as that would give me one less reason to pick up my phone or shout voice commands at my speaker when I am on my desktop.
Thank you for being part of our community. Read our Comment Policy before posting.
