Hey Google Nest Community,
A few weeks ago we announced that we are working on rebuilding and redesigning the Home app for the future of the smart home. With feedback from many of you in hand we set out to imagine what it would take to make the smart home as simple and reliable as the light switch on your wall. We envision a future where you can control all your home devices in one place, from any surface, and where all your compatible devices work together to be more helpful.
Today we’re taking an initial step towards creating a singular app experience with a Public Preview of the new Google Home app. To learn more about the experience and how to enroll, check out this post. For those of you who have questions, in particular for our Nest app users, we wanted to share some more information on what you can expect.
Anish Kattukaran
Director, Product Management, Google Home & Nest
Top Google Home app questions
Q: Last year you talked about a single app for all Nest devices - when can we expect that?
A: For our Nest app users we think that a lot of the new features in the redesigned Google Home app get us closer to the vision for a single app to control your home, but it isn’t a completely one app experience yet. It was really important to us that we get the Home app experience right before we asked our Nest users to migrate to it. This is why we are bringing these updates to Public Preview, so you can try them out first and share feedback with us so we can improve that experience. This preview is our first big step in making this vision real for you, and we’ll continue adding more functionality over time.
Q: What’s taking so long to bring all the Nest cameras to the Google Home app?
A: We’re building the Home app for the future of the smart home, but it's a hard problem. We care deeply about bringing the Nest camera experiences over to the Home app. But this isn't just about updating the app. It involves migrating technology, updating software on the devices, and in many cases on hardware that is more than five years old (our Nest Cam Indoor originally launched back in 2015!). This has involved investing in all parts of the camera software, cloud infrastructure and apps experiences so that we can work to make this transition as seamless as possible -- while maintaining a high bar for performance, security and privacy. That takes a lot of work, and time. We are excited about the progress we are making and are committed to rolling support out for these older cameras over time.
Q: What about the rest of my Nest devices, when will I be able to migrate them over?
A: Beyond just cameras, we will continue to bring support for many Nest devices and features to the Home app, one device at a time, while maintaining the same level of privacy, security, and experiences for our customers. Each device has its own complexity and requires migrating infrastructure, updates to device software and evaluating if the hardware can be supported.
We are excited to start with the Google Nest Cam Indoor and Nest Cam Outdoor followed by other Nest devices like smoke alarms and thermostats. These migrations will begin in 2023.
Q: What happens to the Nest app with this new Google Home app announcement?
A: There is no change to the Nest app today. You can continue to use the app as you do now.
Q: When will I have the ability to schedule cameras in the Google Home app like I can in the Nest App?
A: We recently expanded automation capabilities in the Home app. With this update, you can create a Household Routine to schedule when your camera will turn On/Off, similar to the experience in the Nest app. Learn more about Household Routines in this community blog post.
Q: Is Google Home for web going to support all of the same experiences as the Nest app on the web?
A: Google Home for web already has a key feature that users have asked for - the ability to live stream all your Nest cameras in one place - available as a Public Preview today to all Nest camera users that have migrated. Over time, we will continue to make updates to bring more camera and automation features to the web.
Q: What will I be able to do with my different Nest Cams and Doorbells in the Google Home App Public Preview?
A: In Public Preview the new set of camera controller experiences will be available for Nest Cams and Doorbells launched in 2021 or later. You will see a revamped camera controller experience where you can vertically scroll through your video history, review specific events, and view live streams of your cameras directly on the app’s home view. Customers with Nest Cams and Doorbells that launched before 2021 will also be able to quickly view live video on the home screen as part of Public Preview, however the new camera controller experience won’t be available in the Public Preview right away. We are working to support this soon, starting with Nest Cam Indoor and Nest Cam Outdoor.
