The Google Home app received a huge improvement! It has a new look and can control Matter devices

Google has finally put its hands to work and after years of stagnation is preparing a significant redesign of smart home control in its Home app. The changes are not just cosmetic – the new interface changes the logic of working with controls and adds long-awaited local control via the Matter standard for compatible devices.

Light Controls: New Logic That Makes Sense

The biggest change has been to smart light controls. The large oval slider remains, but Google has redesigned it from the ground up. Brightness percentages have moved below the slider, so they don’t take up space in the middle. When you change the light intensity, your phone rewards you with haptic feedback and also shows the current value to the left of your finger.

Crucial change: the entire slider area is exclusively for brightness adjustment. Tapping no longer turns the light on or off – that’s what the classic button in the top right corner is for. When the light is off, the slider changes to a rounded rectangle. This makes sense because you won’t accidentally turn off the entire lamp when you just want to add a little light.

Three dots next to the power button open a new settings panel. You can expand it to full screen, which is more pleasant than the previous stacked menu. There you’ll find quick actions – add to favorites, device history, feedback, and help. Below that follow detailed information and advanced settings.

Colors on a Carousel Instead of a Grid

Google has also switched up the color scene selection. Instead of a grid, color presets now run in a circle that you can scroll with your finger. The first item still opens manual color and light temperature selection, but both look more modern and react more smoothly to touch.

It’s a small detail, but this is what a consistently thought-out redesign looks like – no part of the interface has been overlooked.

Smart Plugs with a Delightful Animation

For smart plugs and switches, the changes are not as extensive, but Google has added a switching animation that, according to the source article on 9to5google, is “extremely delightful”. We cannot verify this personally right now, but if it’s well done, even such details make a difference in whether an app is used with pleasure or out of necessity.

Matter Devices Finally Work Locally

A crucial technical novelty concerns users of compatible Matter devices with a Matter hub on Android. In the new interface, these devices respond locally, without the need to send a command to the cloud and wait for a response. The result? Faster response and higher reliability, especially when the internet goes out at home.

This is essentially what Matter was supposed to promise from the beginning – a standard that works quickly and independently of whether the connection is active or the cloud service is currently not working. Google has finally implemented it, even though it took years to get there.

How to Try Out the Redesign

The new control is available as part of the Public Preview program of the Google Home app on both Android and iOS. If you want to test the latest features in advance, you can join the program directly in the app’s settings. Google has not yet confirmed when the redesign will arrive in the stable version for all users.

Do you use Google Home to control your smart home?

Source: 9to5Google