Google Home’s May update includes new automations and more

April showers don’t just bring May flowers — apparently they also bring us some of Google’s latest upgrades to Home! We just got an early peek at a few of these late last month, and now Google’s sharing the rest of these new Home improvements, including the arrival of Gemini 3.1, a new camera interface, expanded automation support, and some new management solutions.

We first caught wind of the new camera experience incoming last week, and Google now goes on to highlight specific improvements when it comes to features like face detection, better support for older cameras, and a more useful event history.

We’re also getting zoomed-in, animated previews that show you the important action straight away, event filtering options, and event descriptions right on your timeline.

Automations make your smart home truly feel “smart,” pulling off complex tasks in response to specific triggers. Google keeps making these better and more powerful, and it’s continuing to do that now with the introduction of some new starters, conditions, and actions. Here are the highlights:

• Security & Access Control
  • Arm and disarm: Arm security systems, check if the security system is armed
  • Door lock monitoring: Checking specific states like locked, unlocked, jammed, forced open, or ajar.
  • Binary sensors: Detecting simple true/false states such as contact/no contact, leak/no leak, or freeze/no freeze.
• Appliance & Cleaning:
  • Appliance state (Start & Stop): Controlling operational states (Start, Stop, Pause, Resume) for devices like washers, dryers, and coffee machines.
  • Robot vacuums: Specific commands to dock, pause, or resume vacuum cleaning sessions.
• Lighting & Environment Control
  • Lighting control: Adjusting brightness levels, toggling On/Off, and managing light effects.
  • Colored lights: Change the color of a device (light bulb, LED strip, etc.), change the color temperature of a device
  • Window coverings: Opening and closing blinds or checking their specific position percentage.
  • Climate: Monitoring relative humidity levels via thermostats.
• Media & Entertainment
  • Playback control: Monitoring states like playing, paused, or buffering.
  • Volume: Checking and managing volume levels on media devices.
• Device Health & Inputs
  • Power management: Monitoring battery levels and charging status.
  • Switch events: Utilizing smart switch inputs, including initial presses, long presses, and release events.

Finally, we’ve got some updates for how you’re able to keep on top of what’s happening with your smart home. If you’re away and don’t have your phone on you, you’ll still be able to access Ask Home on the web to search your camera history, set automations, and more.

We’re also hearing about Quick Action buttons in your notifications letting you immediately jump to device controls for a closer look, including the ability to automatically pull up the right property if you’re juggling multiple smart homes like landlords might. Look for these both in Home Public Preview.