Hey Google Nest Community,
We recently announced a series of exciting new updates to Google Home. Of those, one that we are really excited about is the new home panel available on Pixel devices.
Why? It makes controlling your smart home much faster by giving you quick access to your favorite devices with only a tap on your device’s lock screen. Let us take you on a tour of the new home panel, right here in the community.
The home panel brings you quick, one-tap access to your Spaces & Favorites directly from your lock screen, without needing to open up the Google Home app. You can turn on your lights, start an automation, or view a camera live stream to check to see if a package was delivered, with the same powerful controls and live camera views as the newly designed Google Home app experience.
When the new Pixel Tablet is docked, the home panel turns your tablet into a smart home controller. From hub mode, the entire household can access and control your home as quickly & easily as a light switch.
And coming soon to the Pixel Tablet, when someone rings the doorbell, anyone in the home will be able to easily see who’s at the front door with a proactive, full screen notification. Quickly answer with Two-way talk or Quick responses.
While docked anyone1 can use voice to control your home: quickly dim the lights, or check on a camera.
You can also access the home panel from the Android lock screen, enabling even faster & more convenient control of your home. Your privacy & security is protected, requiring you to unlock your phone or tablet to access sensitive controls like cameras & locks.
The home panel is launching first on Pixel phones (including the new Pixel 7a and Pixel Fold) and the new Pixel Tablet. Home panel will be available when you set up your new Pixel Tablet and we’ll be rolling this feature out over the coming weeks as part of the Pixel Feature Drop for Pixel phones, 4a and newer.
Try it and tell us what you think in the comments below.
For general discussions about the Pixel Tablet, visit the Google Pixel Tablet community.
Thanks,
Mark Alexander, Group Product Manager, Google Home
Artur Tsurkan, Product Manager, Android
1Requires guest voice access to be enabled
