Google Home’s new starters in the Home app have introduced a variety of features that enhance its capabilities as a smart home platform. These new features include the ability to trigger routines based on various conditions such as device opening or closing, temperature or humidity changes, occupancy sensing, device plugging in, starting charging, docking or undocking, and volume muting or unmuting.
Additionally, new actions have been added to further expand the functionality of Google Home. These actions include opening or closing devices like shades, pausing or unpausing media, starting, pausing, or resuming timers, docking devices, enabling lighting effects, rebooting devices, and setting target humidity percentages. A comprehensive list of these new starters and actions can be found in Google’s blog post.
With these new starters and actions, users can create some impressive automations. For example, when a dog is detected, calming music can be played to help the dog relax. It is also possible to set up the Chromecast with Google TV to play a dog-friendly TV show. This means that users can now have their dog turn on the TV, taking home automation to a whole new level.
Another great feature for home automation enthusiasts is the ability to create custom phone notifications. This allows users to receive a notification when specific events occur, such as the dog turning on the TV or the robot vacuum finishing its cleaning cycle. Additionally, starter suppression can be utilized to ensure that certain actions only occur under specific circumstances. For instance, the TV could be set to turn on only when the dog walks in front of a camera for the first time in a day.
Personal experiences with the script editor highlight the usefulness of starter suppression. For instance, one user set up the lights in their office to turn on when motion was detected. However, this became problematic when they entered the office in the evening to turn off the lights, only to have them turn right back on when they walked out. Starter suppression would be a useful feature in such situations.
According to Google, the new Home and script editor features are being rolled out starting today. Although the author hasn’t seen these features on their account yet, the rollout process is in progress.
In conclusion, the latest updates to Google Home’s starters and actions in the Home app have significantly expanded its functionality as a smart home platform. With the ability to trigger routines based on various conditions and the introduction of new actions, users can create amazing automations to suit their needs. Moreover, features like custom phone notifications and starter suppression further enhance the user experience, allowing for greater customization and control. As these updates continue to roll out, users can look forward to a more seamless and integrated smart home experience with Google Home.