Important Takeaways
- Anyone running Android 12 or later can now access Google Home’s Favorites widget.
- The widget was previously exclusively available to users through Google’s Public Preview program.
- To access the widget, iOS users will still need to sign up for Public Preview.
The Favorites widget in Google Home, which is now accessible to all users running Android 12 or later, has made it easier to control your most used smart home appliances.
In May, Google’s Public Preview saw the release of the Favorites widget. A Google support page states that the widget is currently accessible on Android and no longer in Public Preview.
A Favorites widget for each of your smart home appliances, including lighting, smart locks, and thermostats, may be added to your Home app panel.
Google Home Favorites Widget Uses an On/Off Switch to Manage Devices
According to Google’s support page, the Favorites widget will “indicate if the device is active or not,” and you may use it to monitor the status of your device. Every half an hour, the status of the device will be updated.
Additionally, you may modify the widget by resizing it, selecting custom widget controls, syncing your Home app favorites, and changing the home using the widget settings.
Additionally, the help website says that the widget can be used to directly control devices that have an on/off toggle. Tapping the tile will reveal the device controls for gadgets like smart home thermostats that don’t have an on/off switch.
iOS users who sign up for Google’s Public Preview program can add the Favorites widget to their home screen. When the widget will leave public.previeww and be made widely accessible to all iOS users is yet unknown.
