The Google Home app is getting a major overhaul. Here’s what it looks like

By Bryan M. Wolfe Updated August 12, 2024

Joe Maring / Digital Trends

Just days after announcing its fourth-generation Nest Learning Thermostat, Google is set to change the Google Home app. As first noted by Android Police, this will revamp how users interact with their compatible devices.

The updated app, part of the Google Home Public Preview version 3.20.1.8, has been revised, including the thermostat controls and the general UI. The refresh also relocates the Nest app and Energy Dashboard icons underneath the main thermostat controls; they now look like pills. Meanwhile, the settings cog and overflow menu remain at the app’s top.

At the bottom of the app, users will find content such as the “time until” desired temperature, modes, humidity, fan controls, and more.

Google Home app changes. — Android Police

As Android Police also explains, the update now allows you to adjust your thermostat’s temperature setting from the Favorites menu. Previously, thermostat settings within favorites were accessed through a chip, tapping, which would open the full thermostat control panel.

We are still determining the exact release date of the Google Home app update for download in the Google Play Store. However, it’s worth noting that the new Nest Learning Thermostat is scheduled to start shipping on August 20, so the app update is likely to be available to everyone around that time.

The fourth Nest Learning Thermostat is being released 13 years after the original version. The latest model is designed to “look like a piece of art,” as Google describes it. The thermostat has a diameter of 3.9 inches and is 1.1 inches thick. It features a 2.7-inch LCD screen on the front.

Topics

Bryan M. Wolfe has over a decade of experience as a technology writer. He writes about mobile.

Mobile

The new Google Wallet app has landed, and here’s what it looks like

The new Google Wallet app running on an Android phone.

Google Wallet was announced at Google I/O 2022 earlier this year, and now it's finally starting to roll out to the public. Although there was plenty of initial confusion about how the app would differ from G Pay, Google's other wallet-esque app, the differences have finally become clear as Android users are able to compare and contrast the two.

Because Wallet doesn't have the plethora of features included in G Pay, it's a little bare-bones at the moment. But that's kind of the point. It's a much more streamlined way to access credit cards and the like, but after logging in for the first time and putting information in, there's not much else to it. Take a look:

Mobile

Here’s what Google’s Pixel Watch looks like on a wrist

Google Pixel Watch leaked render.

Google's Pixel Watch has leaked once more, this time with a view on a wrist. The leak comes from the same Redditor, tagtech414, who claimed to find the Pixel Watch in a bar in an earlier report. In a follow-up post, the user shared photos of the Pixel Watch on an actual wrist, including descriptions of his impressions.

"[The bands are] kind of a pain to attach the first time, but I imagine it would be easier after I know how to properly attach them. They are extremely secure and don't feel like they will easily release," tagtech414 wrote, "Most importantly, this is the most comfortable watch I've ever worn. It feels much thinner than the measurements would lead you to believe. Compared to my Galaxy Watch this feels like it's not even there."

Mobile

Google’s Pixel 4 looks different. Here’s what the designers changed and why

google pixel 4 design interview max yoshimoto alberto villarreal sketches 6

While riding the subway in New York City, I often find myself playing a guessing game to figure out what phones my fellow commuters are using. Occasionally, I get stumped, but whenever I see a two-tone design with a bit of contrast, there’s no doubt I’m looking at a Google Pixel phone.

Pixels don’t look like the rest. The first Pixel and Pixel 2 used different materials on the back -- a mix of metal and glass -- that were unusual for a phone. While the entire rear was made of glass on the Pixel 3, the distinct two-tone aesthetic remained with a mixture of gloss and matte. This look has become iconic, and it’s now unequivocally Google.