Pixel exclusive Google Home app’s “Home Panel” feature coming to other devices with Android 14،
The once Google Pixel-exclusive “home panel” feature of the Google Home app will soon be available on other devices running Android 14. This feature gives you quick access to your Spaces and Favorites right from your lock screen or your Quick Settings panel.
This was confirmed by Google via the
Nest Community Blog earlier this week, where the company announced new updates and improvements to Home and Nest that have recently taken place and some to come. For example, launching expanded controls for smart home devices from different brands, such as fans and sensors.
However, between the Nest thermostat and the generative AI announcements for home automation, there was another piece of information that would benefit users of the
Google Home app on devices other than the Google Pixel. The Home Panel, a section of the Home app that lets you quickly access all your favorite smart devices right from your Home screen, will soon be available on other Android devices with
Android 14.
Source-Google
The Home panel can be accessed by simply tapping the Device Controls shortcut on your device’s lock screen or in the Quick Settings panel. Once the functionality is deployed to the rest of the Android 14 family, you will then be able to see a list of all your spaces and favorites, where you can then tap on any device to control it.
As explained
Michael Rahman, this is now possible thanks to the Home Panel which benefits from a new API which allows applications to integrate a personalized activity into the Device Controls interface. This API was not publicly available in the past and could only be used by the Google Home app on Pixels, but now that the API has become public, third-party apps will also be able to take advantage of it.
The Home panel is a great way to quickly control your smart devices without having to open the Home app. It will be interesting to see how third-party apps leverage this to give their users quick access to their controls.
