Google Home is among the biggest smart home platforms in the world, and Google adds new and useful features to it every few months. An upcoming Google Home feature brings a widget to Android devices, letting you control your most important smart home device from your phone's home screen.
Google Home to get a new widget to control smart home devices
Last year, Google teased a new widget for Google Home called ‘Favorites' that lets you quickly control smart home devices. The widget then appeared at Google I/O 2024 a few weeks ago. Now, 9To5Google has discovered the Favorites widget and got it working on a device. According to Google, it offers “Quick control of your actions, automations, and devices.” It displays your favorite smart home devices in a grid format.
After placing the ‘Favorite' widget on the home screen, it asks whether you want it to be synced with your existing favorite devices tab in the Google Home app or want to choose other devices. The widget's settings screen lets you choose your home and rearrange the order of devices visible in the grid.
This new widget displays your home's name in the top left corner and a refresh button on the right. It has a 5 x 3 grid by default, but it can take up the entire screen if you resize it. It also features the Material You theme. This widget could be released to Android users soon, but it isn't active in version 3.18 of the app right now.
The story continues after our video below.
On your Samsung smartphone or tablet, you can quickly access and turn off/on your favorite smart home devices from the quick setting toggles area's Device Control section. Once you get the new Google Home widget, you will get an additional way to access and control your smart home devices.
