Google Home App Gets One of the Biggest Updates We’ve Seen

by · Droid Life

Alongside all of those Google Home speaker and streamer software updates today, Google is pushing one of the biggest updates to the Google Home app and Gemini for Home that we’ve seen.

The Gemini for Home updates aren’t the star here, so let’s talk through those first. For one, Google says that Gemini should be better at understanding when you are trying to transfer music between your rooms, like with a “move Mozart to the living room,” as an example.

Gemini for Home-powered speakers and displays will also stop saying “Sorry, I didn’t understand” when unprompted, will be less confused by the difference between sleep and regular timers, should be better at adjusting volume in other rooms, and more.

Now, for the Google Home app updates, Google is giving you better access to your Google Home Premium features (tap profile > Google Home Premium), smoother and more reliable camera feeds on both iOS and Android, more reliable face and person detection through Nest Doorbell, more accurate icons and controls for Matter doors and windows (Android), and software updates to all of its still-supported cameras.

Nest Cam devices that migrated to the Google Home app are getting new software updates that should bring improved WiFi reconnection stability, faster night vision switching, better synchronized audio, and more accurate status light behavior.

Finally, when it comes to fixes, Google is pushing at least 9 improvements that do everything from making your online status more accurate to adding visual polish, at least on Android. The Google Home app on Android now has rounded touch ripples, correct battery icon placement, and bottom sheets that open fully.

Again, this update is quite large and there is a lot to walk through, so we’ve included the full list of changes below.

Gemini for Home (Early Access)

Voice Assistant

General Fixes & Improvements

  • Transferring music between rooms: Improved how Gemini understands requests to move media that’s playing in one room to a speaker or display in a different location. Try saying, “move Mozart to the living room” or, “bring the music here.”
  • Fewer unexpected “Sorry, I didn’t understand” responses: Fixed an issue where speakers and displays could occasionally say “Sorry, I didn’t understand” unprompted when no one had spoken to the device.
  • Better distinction between media sleep timers and regular timers: Fixed a rare issue where Gemini would get confused between media sleep timers, normal timers, and alarms under specific conditions.
  • More reliable YouTube TV commands on smart displays: Fixed an issue with playing YouTube TV on smart displays so voice commands reliably start the content you’re looking for.
  • More predictable volume controls across rooms: Fixed an issue where asking to adjust the volume on a speaker or display in another room could accidentally change the volume on the device you were speaking to if the other device couldn’t be found.
  • Fixed zero-volume timers and alarms: Resolved a specific bug where alarm and timer volumes were being set to zero. In this situation, alarm and timer volume will be adjusted to match your device volume.

Google Home App

Home Premium

  • Get to know your Home Premium features & benefits: If you are a Google Home Premium subscriber, you can now easily access all your features & benefits, with Tap on your profile on the top right of your screen. From there, tap on “Google Home Premium” to view, understand, and enable your features.

Device Controls

  • Accurate icons and controls for Matter doors and windows (Android): The app now recognizes specific Matter closure types—including garage doors, gates, windows, blinds, and cabinets—displaying the correct device icon and controls instead of treating every closure as a generic gate.

Energy

  • View energy data on supported Matter devices (Android): Compatible Matter smart plugs and energy monitors that measure cumulative energy usage now display both real-time power (mW) and total energy consumed (kWh) directly on their device tiles and controller screens.
  • Save energy with one-tap shortcuts: Quick-set your home to energy-saving temperatures directly from your thermostat controller or home view with a dedicated shortcut, making it effortless to conserve energy whenever you step away.

Camera

  • More reliable event timeline scrolling (iOS): Fixed an issue where scrolling to the end of an event on the progress bar or across brief gaps between events could trigger a “Video Not Available” error.
  • Smooth camera live view when unfolding foldable phones (Android): Fixed an issue on foldable phones where unfolding or folding the device while watching a full-screen camera live stream could leave the video stuck on a loading spinner.
  • More reliable face and person detection on Nest Doorbell (wired, 1st gen): Improved person and Familiar Face detection when visitors are further from the door or angled away from the camera.

  • Software updates for Nest Cam Indoor (1st gen), Nest Cam Outdoor (1st gen), Nest Doorbell (wired, 1st gen / Nest Hello), Nest Cam IQ Indoor, and Nest Cam IQ Outdoor migrated to the Google Home app:

    • Improved Wi-Fi reconnection stability: Fixed issues that could cause cameras to crash or stall when reconnecting after brief Wi-Fi interruptions.
    • Faster night vision switching when turning on the camera: Fixed an issue on Nest Cam Indoor (1st gen) and Nest Cam Outdoor (1st gen) where turning the camera on in low light or switching to night vision in the Google Home app could take 15 to 20 seconds.
    • Synchronized audio and video on Nest Doorbell (wired, 1st gen): Fixed an issue that could cause audio and video to fall out of sync and trigger unexpected device restarts.
    • Accurate status light behavior on Nest Cam IQ: Fixed an issue on Nest Cam IQ Indoor and Nest Cam IQ Outdoor where the status light ring could pulse blue (indicating it was waiting for setup) when Wi-Fi was disconnected on an already set up camera.

General Fixes & Improvements

  • Accurate online status (iOS): Devices no longer briefly show as “Offline” after a short connection hiccup.
  • Spaces show the right content (Android): Opening a space like Lights no longer flashes another tab’s content.
  • Settings survive rotation (Android): Unsaved preference changes are no longer lost when you rotate your phone.
  • No more blank screen in Assistant settings (Android): Going back from Google Tasks settings now works as expected.
  • Easier exit from Thread settings (iOS): The navigation bar now stays visible when viewing Thread network details.
  • Tidier home names (iOS): Long home names now truncate instead of overlapping header buttons.
  • Controls auto-dismiss on Pixel Tablet (Android): Single-device voice controls no longer linger on screen.
  • Parental controls fit on tablets (Android): Headers and filters are no longer cut off in landscape.
  • Visual polish (Android): Rounded touch ripples, a dark-mode-friendly feedback sheet, correct battery icon placement, and bottom sheets that open fully.

// Google

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