The great thing about the smart home is that it allows us to control our devices from anywhere and at any time; and the Google Home revolution will open the doors to more control methods
As Google continues to work on opening up its platform, it has just confirmed that the Home integration with Wear OSits system for smart watches, has improved like never before. We will finally be able to control our smart devices with a simple tap on our wrist, without having to use our mobile phone as we had to do until now.
In reality, this is a change that was announced a few months ago, and is theoretically part of the flood of new features coming to the Pixel in June, but it’s only now that early adopters are finding it on their watches. As usual, the update should reach all users little by little who have the Google Home app installed on their Wear OS watch.
When the app is updated, the next time we launch it, a pop-up window will open and explain the big news: shortcuts. While they may sound simple, they have the potential to completely change the way we use our Google Home connected devices.
To start, Wear OS now allows us to add a screen dedicated exclusively to Google Homeas well as those dedicated to time, calendar and health that are already present by default on all watches. From this screen we will have access to several buttons that represent all our devices, and we will be able to access each of them with a single touch; Each device is represented by an icon, such as the smart bulb or a connected plug, and we also have a button that will open the complete list of devices.
Google Home Shortcuts screen in Wear OS
Free Android
The other big news is the arrival of “complications”, those shortcuts that can be added to compatible watch faces. Google Home already has a “complication”, but the only thing it does if we press it is open the application on our watch. Now we can add shortcuts to our devices to control them directly from the watch face.
When adding a shortcut, it will appear with the corresponding icon indicating the type of device it is; This will allow us to activate and deactivate it more quickly and directly than opening the application on the watch or mobile phone.
Wear OS watch face with access to Google Home devices
Free Android
Additionally, Google has promised that we’ll soon be able to do much more than just turn a device on or off; depending on the type of device, advanced controls will appear like adjusting the speed of a fan, indicating that we’ve left the house so that devices enter low-energy mode, changing the temperature of the thermostat, and adjusting the brightness of lights, all directly from the watch screen.
