Google Home is finally addressing one of its biggest shortcomings in automations, with support now rolling out for smart buttons that can control other devices in your home.
Smart buttons have become a bit more popular in the past few years, thanks in part to the rise of Matter.
But they didn’t work with Google Home, until now.
In the latest Home update, v4.8, smart buttons can finally be used in automations, Google says. This unlocks support for using buttons for physical controls throughout your home. We’re in the midst of testing this out with IKEA’s cheap “BILRESA” buttons, but they haven’t worked yet – stay tuned.
This comes in a collection of new automation updates, including the ability to use humidity sensors to trigger actions at certain humidity levels, using a robot vacuum being docked to start an automation, and more. You can also now use battery status for conditions, as well as “binary states” (i.e. closed/open, leak/no leak, etc) on supported devices within automations.
Top comment by Omega192
Hallelujah. Frustrating it took this long but better late than never. Think I'll have to go pick up some of those IKEA buttons now.
I like the ease of adding smart bulbs but as a renter I can't install smart switches/relays so I have to make sure I never turn the power switch off and can only control them by voice/app/automation. Being able to stick one of those buttons where the power switch is would return their ease of use. Though, seems like this doesn't include the scroll wheel input which would be nice for dimming so hopefully that's not far behind.
Google says new starters/conditions in Home automations include:
- Humidity reaches a specific level: e.g. “When the humidity is above 60%…”
- Robot vacuum docking: e.g. “If the vacuum is docked…”
- Battery status on a device: e.g. “If the battery is charging…” or “When the battery is low…”
- Switch or button is pressed**: e.g. “When double tapping the switch…”, “When holding down the button on a dimmer switch…”, or “When the button is released…” ** Available as a starter only
- Single or multi-press
- Long press
- Long press release
- Binary state for supported devices: e.g. “If there’s a leak…” or “If the window is open…”
- Closed or opened
- Contact or no contact
- Freeze or no freeze
- Leak or no leak
Meanwhile, you can also now set smart lights to a specific color or color temperature via automations:
- Set smart light to a specific color or temperature: e.g. “…set the living room light to blue” or “…set the bedroom light to a warm white”
This update should also bring improvements for Nest Cam owners frustrated by the long-running “video not available” errors, which Google says it has deployed a “foundational fix” for.
More on Google Home:
- Google Home will fix that annoying offline lights bug
- Google Home update improves automation triggers & actions, including robot vacuums
- Gemini for Home camera updates improve Familiar Face, animal detection, more
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