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| Google allows certain home devices to be controlled using the Google Home app |
After introducing it a while back with its smart display, the Nest Hub, Google has started supporting controlling some TVs and home appliances through the Google Home app for smart devices.
Last August, Google announced that it would introduce redesigned controls in the Google Home app for popular smart home devices like fans, air purifiers, vacuum cleaners, and TVs.
The company has now started rolling out the promised controls with a few minor visual tweaks to the Device Controls page in the Smart Devices app.
Owners of TVs that are compatible with the Google Assistant or the Google Home app will find that the app provides commands to control the device and that they are fully touch-enabled.
These include volume up and down, mute and unmute, play and stop, play, pause, channel and source lists. It's similar to unmolded smart speaker models, with an oversized vibrator and controls that do everything but play and pause.
Since these commands are already available on Nest Hub devices, they are now also available in the Google Home app.
This differs from Cast-enabled TVs or Android TV in that they provide media controls in the Google Home app rather than on the hardware itself.
Information so far indicates that owners of LG and Samsung TVs participating in the App Preview Program (Google Home) are aware of this feature. And if the function is widely applied to the smart devices of all users.