Skip to main content

Your Google Pixel phone just got a big smart home update

Managing your smart home with Google Home is about to get simpler – if you have a Google Pixel device that is. That’s because Home Panel is rolling out to devices, including the Google Pixel 7 and Google Pixel Fold, and it allows you to control much of your smart home tech from your lock screen.

Home Panel debuted on the Google Pixel tablet, and it allows you to access controls like the brightness of your smart bulbs, the volume of your smart speaker, or the intensity of your smart fan without needing to unlock your Pixel device. You won’t be able to control everything from your locked phone, however. For example, you’ll need to unlock it to control your smart home security cameras.

The update is currently rolling out so you might not have access to the features quite yet. But those of you that have a Pixel device should make sure you’re running the latest version of Android 14 and be on the lookout for a Google Home app update.

To access the new feature when it has gone live or check if you have the update yet or not, you just have to lock your phone. Then, wake it up by picking your phone up, tapping on the screen or pressing the power button, and then pressing the Home icon in the bottom left corner of the screen. This will show you your home panel, and quick controls for your favorite smart devices.

Home Panel: Smart homes are getting smarter 

Unlocking your phone to manage your smart home gadgets can make the system feel sluggish – and not quite as smart as the name suggests. But this new Home lock screen menu should make the experience of managing your home a fair bit simpler and quicker.

Controlling home devices with your voice – thanks to the help of a compatible smart speaker – can also help to make your setup feel smarter, but sometimes using a control panel is the best option for what you need. 

On more than one occasion we asked our Google Assistant to turn the volume down to 7 because the speaker is too loud, only for the volume to go up because it was on a lower setting than we realized. Other times we’ve wanted to gradually dim the lights, but having to repeatedly ask Google to make your room darker until it hits the right level can be a bit tedious – or even worse, ask it to make it brighter when you realize you went too far.

If we’d used the Home Panel, we could have avoided this frustration. We could have seen the speaker was already at half volume and dragged the bar down to make it quieter; similarly, we could have adjusted the light levels using the control bar rather than bringing them down incrementally with several commands.

Hopefully, Home Panel will make its way to other devices soon, though it’s not clear when other phones in our best Android phones will get the feature.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Windows Copilot leak suggests deeper assimilation with Windows 11 features

Key Windows 11 features may soon be customizable as Microsoft further integrates its Windows Copilot AI assistant into the operating system. This tidbit comes from tech news site Windows Latest , which claims to have discovered new .json (JavaScript Object Notation) files within recent preview builds of Windows 11. These files apparently hint at future upgrades for the desktop AI assistant. For example, a “TaskManagerService-ai-plugin.json” was found which is supposedly a “plugin for Task Manager integration”. If this ever comes out, it could give users the ability to “monitor or close running apps using” Copilot. In total, six are currently tested and they affect various aspects of Windows 11. Next, there is an “AccessbilityTools-ai-plugin.json” that gives Copilot a way to “control accessibility [tools]. This would make it "easier for those with [a] disability to navigate through the system.” Third is “ai-plugin-WindowsSettings.json” for controlling important Windows 11 set...
Post a Comment
Read more

Google Chrome releases security fix for this major flaw, so update now

Google says it has fixed a high-severity flaw in its Chrome browser which is currently being exploited by threat actors in the wild.  In a security advisory , the company described the flaw being abused and urged the users to apply the fix immediately.  "Google is aware that an exploit for CVE-2023-2033 exists in the wild," the advisory reads. Automatic updates The zero-day in question is a confusion weakness vulnerability in the Chrome V8 JavaScript engine, the company said. Usually, this type of flaw can be used to crash the browser, but in this case it can also be used to run arbitrary code on compromised endpoints.  The flaw was discovered by Clement Lecigne from the Google Threat Analysis Group (TAG). Usually, TAG works on finding flaws abused by nation-states, or state-sponsored threat actors. There is no word on who the threat actors abusing this flaw are, though. Read more > Patch Google Chrome now to fix this emergency security flaw > Emergency...
Post a Comment
Read more

Samsung's ViewFinity S9 may be the monitor creatives have been searching for

Originally revealed during CES 2023 , Samsung has finally launched its ViewFinity S9 5K monitor after nine long months of waiting.  According to the announcement, the ViewFinity S9 is the company’s first-ever 5K resolution (5,120 x 2880 pixels) IPS display aimed primarily at creatives. IPS stands for in-plane switching , a form of LED tech offering some of the best color output and viewing angles on the market. This quality is highlighted by the fact that the 27-inch screen supports 99 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut plus delivers 600 nits of brightness.  Altogether, these deliver great picture quality made vibrant by saturated colors and dark shadows. The cherry on top for the ViewFinity S9 is a Matte Display coating to “drastically [reduce] light reflections.”  As a direct rival to the Apple Studio Display , the monitor is an alternative for creative professionals looking for options. It appears Samsung has done its homework as the ViewFinity S9 addresses some of...
Post a Comment
Read more