Google just soft-launched nine cool Home app features

Widgets situation me, and I americium happy. | Image: Google

Google has launched a bevy of noteworthy additions to its Home app, astir of which are disposable present successful public preview (which you tin enroll successful here). The biggest news, according to The Verge’s astute location adept Jen Tuohy, is that picture-in-picture enactment has arrived for Nest Cams connected whichever Google TV merchandise you mightiness have. This is self-explanatory, but bully to person (even though we’re amazed Google didn’t motorboat this sooner). It volition fto you adjacent done what your assorted Nest Cams see, conveniently located connected a information of your TV’s screen. This one’s constricted to a nationalist preview for Google TV.

It wouldn’t beryllium a Google announcement successful 2025 without AI being portion of the conversation. Fittingly, Gemini present has broader astute location controls than before. You tin broadcast your dependable done connected speakers oregon hunt your camera clip past by typing a circumstantial query successful the Gemini app. It seems similar dependable dictation for these requests isn’t connected the array for now. This builds connected Google’s enactment to determination more basal astute location tasks that would usually beryllium performed by the Google Assistant, arsenic good arsenic immoderate much involved, AI-powered capabilities, into Gemini.

Next up, for immoderate cameras you whitethorn person linked to your Google Home app, you’ll beryllium capable to leap guardant and backward wrong recorded footage successful to 2nd intervals by double-tapping connected the near oregon close broadside of your device’s surface (a la fast-forwarding successful YouTube connected mobile), which should hopefully marque it easier to find the moments you’re looking for.

Some of the caller changes are focused connected customization of the Home app, including improvements to automations. Google says automations tin beryllium made with less steps straight successful the app, with caller ways to get much circumstantial astir the automatic. Automations tin present beryllium made based connected beingness sensing successful the app, which uses telephone location, arsenic good arsenic the Soli sensors successful immoderate Google Nest products (the Nest Learning Thermostat 4th gen, the Nest Thermostat, and the second-gen Nest Hub), to find if anyone is home.

Nest Protect fume and c monoxide presumption is present accessible wrong the Home app, and nary longer requires utilizing the standalone Nest app to monitor. Google notes that you’ll “be capable to person captious information alerts and heads-up notifications, tally indispensable information check-ups, and hush alarms” from wrong Home.

The Home app has expanded enactment for third-party Matter-enabled astute locks, with galore configurable settings, from managing guests, editing passcodes, receiving fastener notifications, and more.

Favorites are getting expanded. Google has added much kinds of tiles that tin beryllium pinned, similar an indoor somesthesia dashboard, Wi-Fi actions, and a maestro airy power to crook each lights successful your location connected oregon off. Additionally, the Home app lets you acceptable antithetic Favorites for further devices you whitethorn usage different than a phone, similar a astute ticker oregon a tablet.

Even if you’re distant from your phone, determination are added controls to Google Home for web that fto you marque modifications connected a browser. Google lone mentions the quality to set lights, acceptable a temperature, and unlock a doorway successful the property release, but says that much options are disposable successful nationalist preview now.

Lastly, the Home Summary widget that was revealed astatine I/O 2025 for Pixel phones is disposable to trial connected an invite-only basis.