Digital Phablet

Tag: routines

  • Google Home Update Adds More Automation Controls

    Google Home Update Adds More Automation Controls

    Google Home automations can seamlessly reduce daily hassles, from turning on lights at just the right moment to adjusting the thermostat as you approach home. These automations are among the most practical features of Google’s smart home ecosystem.

    Recently, Google expanded the capabilities of these routines by introducing new startup triggers, offering users more ways to activate automations. Now, an update to the Google Home app further enhances this feature set by adding support for additional trigger types, conditions, and actions that simplify creating helpful routines.

    According to the update notes on Google’s support page, Google Home now includes humidity-based triggers. This allows routines to activate when indoor humidity surpasses a certain level. For instance, you can automate turning on a dehumidifier or exhaust fan when humidity rises above a set point, and turn them off when levels normalize.

    Google has also added new device and status-based conditions. Automations can now be set to run when a robot vacuum docks or undocks, when a device’s battery is charging or low, or when a switch or button is pressed. The button press options support single presses, multiple presses, long presses, and long-press releases.

    Additionally, automations can now be triggered by the binary state of compatible devices—such as detecting if something is open or closed, whether a contact sensor registers activity, or if sensors detect leaks or freezing conditions. These enhancements enable more safety-focused routines, like sending alerts if a leak is detected or a window is left open.

    Google Home has also introduced a new lighting control action that allows users to set their smart lights to a specific color or temperature. This feature enables automatic lighting adjustments to match different times of day, such as a cool white during daylight hours or a warm tone in the evening.

    Along with these new triggers and actions, the update resolves an issue that prevented playback of recent security camera footage. Google reports that this fix will reduce “Video not available” errors when opening the app from notifications or viewing recent events.

  • Build Smarter Google Home Routines Easily

    Build Smarter Google Home Routines Easily

    Google Home automations are becoming significantly smarter thanks to a major update that broadens the core components of routines, offering users more precise control over their smart devices. If you depend on Google Home for managing lights, appliances, or security systems, this new rollout provides a whole new level of customization.

    The update adds approximately 20 new starting conditions and actions within the Google Home app. Anish Kattukaran, Chief Product Officer for Google Home and Gemini for Home, announced on X that these enhancements will enable more detailed, flexible automation configurations.

    At the core of this update are new triggers, conditions, and actions that allow routines to respond to real-time events in your home. You can now create routines based on media playback states such as playing, paused, or buffering, including specific volume or screen brightness levels.

    This means automations can, for example, automatically dim the lights when a movie begins or behave differently if a TV is paused instead of actively streaming. Smart appliances also gain more intelligence, with routines able to check whether a washer or dryer is running, paused, stopped, or reporting an error, giving routines a newfound awareness.

    The enhancements in actions are equally significant. Google Home can now control individual devices more precisely—turning devices on or off, arming security systems, opening or closing smart blinds, or managing robot vacuums by pausing, resuming, or sending them back to their dock.

    Support for appliances like washers, dryers, and coffee makers has expanded to include start, stop, or pause commands, although support is still limited to certain models. While categories such as smart ovens, robot vacuums, and robot mops aren’t fully supported yet, more device types are expected to be added over time.

    Additionally, smaller improvements have been implemented to boost user experience, like making it easier to provide feedback on AI-created automation descriptions, which are still in early testing phases.

    Google indicates this is just the first wave of updates, with more automation features already in development. With the arrival of Gemini on Google’s smart home products, these enhancements empower users to craft routines with greater precision without adding complexity to the setup process.