One day after its Gemini and AI-focused Google I/O 2024 keynote, the tech giant is now focusing on the home, specifically smart homes.
Back in 2023, Google redesigned its Home app for Android and iOS to support the Matter smart home standard and more robust controls. In 2024, Google will expand its developer tools with two new APIs to make it easier to build smart homes and integrate them into other apps and experiences.
New Device and Structure API and Automation API join the Commissioning API. The Commissioning API is used to retrieve light bulbs, plugs, and countless other smart home gadgets online.
We hope that app developers of all types will be able to create instances where their apps can tap into the smart home ecosystem of homeowners using their products and services. Of course, users will need to be granted access, but the goal is to make it easier to develop automations and routines involving smart home gadgets.
For example, you can set up a routine that automatically turns on your front porch light when a food delivery driver approaches. This is very useful.
TechRadar chatted with Anish Kattukaran, head of product for Google Home & Nest, to learn more about the latest Home API.
Two new APIs enable an intuitive smart home experience across your apps
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
Fundamentally, Google Home is now seen and built as a platform that developers can easily build on. With these new tools, Google is taking some of the frustration out of building for smart homes, making it easier to integrate with standards, and making it easier for those creating smart home products to adopt standards. We aim to allow other products as well. Developers can build their own “innovative experiences” that tie into the smart home.
In Katukaran's words, these “experiences” or routines can “bridge the digital and physical worlds.” For example, Pixel phones can also utilize smart lights to help you relax when sleep mode is enabled. It also allows smart home brands like Eve to bring their own automation features to Google Home for the first time.
The Device and Structure API gives developers access to over 600 million connected devices from a single integration. This could be a way to connect your food delivery app and turn on your outdoor porch lights. Or, if you run out of cleaning solution for your appliances, you can immediately reorder cleaning solution. This has the potential to resolve issues, and for privacy and security reasons, the owner (i.e. you) must give permission and can revoke permission at any time.
Google's new automation API is intelligent and uses GenAI to connect the dots between smart home devices. For example, Yale University uses this to turn on porch lights when the door is locked. This API paves the way for that integration and experience. Deliver.
Kattukaran said Google hopes to “open up Home in a way that makes it easier for all mobile developers to use and integrate with Home than ever before.” This allows developers who don't design for smart homes to add elements to smart homes. This is a really great use case that opens the door to all sorts of possibilities.
Google is opening a waitlist for the new Home API today, May 15th, with a full release expected later this year. However, Google has already shared his four experiences available to smart home users. Eve Systems brings automation to his Android for the first time, such as automatically lowering the blinds based on conditions. The Pixel team is aiming to make bedtime mode a little more specific by locking the door, dimming the lights, and turning off the screen.
ADT is likely to be more focused on security than smart homes, allowing homeowners with the system to easily grant secure, temporary access to someone such as a family member, friend, or employee. We plan to introduce “Trusted Neighbors'' that will During our conversation, we talked about this ADT feature and similar possibilities.
For example, hotels and rental properties can integrate unlocking and locking rooms and smart home control into their own applications. You can prepare your space, turn on the lights, and adjust the climate based on geofencing and estimated time of arrival.
Finally, Google is aiming to make smart homes faster, opening the door for more devices to effectively become home hubs by running new software, Google Home Runtime. Essentially, many Nest, Android TV, Google TV devices, and many LG TVs become Matter-enabled and Thread-enabled hubs, allowing you to process smart home commands and requests locally. Since AKA doesn't need to send these to the cloud, you could potentially speed up these requests at home or over Wi-Fi. Kattukaran shared that when the software is run in a home with a hub, commands like turning on smart light bulbs are up to three times faster.
Prospects for Google Home as a platform
(Image credit: Future)
This isn't new hardware or a redesign, and the app doesn't need it, but it's an exciting way to bring your smart home to life. Developers of all kinds will now be able to integrate and create new intuitive experiences that make it easier to solve everyday problems or deliver food in the middle of the night. Features could be for sports fans, like having lights flash a certain color when a team scores or integrating with music streaming services.
Katukaran said he's excited about what developers will build, saying, “(They) can now think about housing in ways they never thought before, so they're excited about what they're going to build.” “Is that what you're doing?” he said.