The Google Home app has received a welcome update that brings physical onscreen controls for garage doors. This change is a big one, as users previously had to rely on voice command and Google Assistant, making the process a bit more convoluted. However, one thing to note is that the update looks to only available in the Public Preview version of the Google Home app.
According to 9to5Google, the Google Home has been updated with support for garage door controls. The news outlet wasn’t particular about when this feature was added, only stating that it’s occurred “over the past few weeks.” The Verge was quick to point out that the update looks to only be available in the preview version of the Google Home app. So if you’re running the standard app, you might not see this change for the time being. With that said, the new garage door controls allow users to open and close their compatible garage doors at the push of a button. Users will see a simple pill shaped button interface with one button for opening the garage, while the other is for closing.
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Now, this is exciting stuff, but the feature won’t be compatible with all garage doors. 9to5Google has been able to confirm using its own products that it does work with brands Tailwind and Nexx. Unfortunately, since there isn’t an official post about this update, there isn’t a concrete list of supported garage doors at this time. We’ve reached out to Google to see if more information about compatible garage doors is available and will update this post when necessary. Of course, there’s always a chance that we will hear more about this and other features related to Google Home during Google I/O 2023 set to take place on May 10.
Google Home has offered garage controls for some time now, but this is the first time physical controls have been available through the app. Previously users needed to use Google Assistant to control the action of garage doors using voice commands, which wasn’t exactly the most streamlined experience. Of course, as stated before, if you want to try this new feature out, you’ll need to do so using the new Google Home preview app which was made available late last year. You can gain access to this by requesting to join the Public Preview.