- Google has released the latest “What’s new in Google Home” update, summarizing new features and improvements for its smart home services.
- “Gemini for Home (Early Access)” now includes enhanced visual displays for weather and general knowledge, improved accuracy for sports information, and more stable Continued Conversation. Additionally, version 4.20 of the Android/iOS Google Home app introduces new “Suggested Automations,” camera light controls, and various bug fixes and performance improvements, including better live streaming and Face Match setup.
- The Android/iOS Google Home app v4.20 update also resolves multiple issues related to camera live feeds, smart lock status displays, and overall app stability.
On Wednesday, July 8, 2026, Google released the latest “What’s new in Google Home” update, detailing new features and improvements being rolled out for its smart home ecosystem.
This edition of “What’s new in Google Home” highlights enhancements to “Gemini for Home (Early Access),” including improved visual layouts for weather and general knowledge, higher accuracy for sports data, and more stable continued conversations. Furthermore, the Google Home app (v4.20 or later) for Android and iOS now features “Suggested Automations” and new camera lighting controls. The v4.20 update also addresses several bugs and stability issues, including improvements to camera live streaming, smart lock display, and “Face Match” setup.
Release notes for 2026
Gemini for Home (Early Access)
Voice Assistant
Enhanced Answers & Daily Assistance
- Beautiful visual cards on Smart Displays: Weather forecasts and general knowledge answers on smart displays have been upgraded with refreshed visual layouts.
- More reliable sports updates: Ask about game scores, schedules, and team standings with more accurate and up-to-date sports answers.
Try saying:
- “What’s the weather forecast for this weekend?”
- “When’s the next FIFA World Cup match?”
Continued Conversation Improvements
- Uninterrupted follow-up conversations: Back-to-back commands with Continued Conversation and responses to follow-up questions are now more reliable and won’t ask for voice verification mid-conversation
Try saying:
- “What’s on my calendar today?”… then say, “And what about tomorrow?”
Google Home App
These features and improvements are available in Google Home App version 4.20, and are beginning to roll out today.
Automation
- Suggested automations: Get inspired or kickstart your home automation journey with suggested automations. Instead of starting from a blank canvas, you’ll now see ready-made automations tailored to real-life tasks, like home security, morning routines, or energy savings. Look for the new suggestions section at the top of your Automations tab or below your scheduled automations. Rolling out globally to all Google Home app users on Android and iOS over the coming weeks.
Read more about this in the help center article here.Camera
- Easy light control: We’ve added a new light button directly in your camera view to easily turn on and off the built-in lighting for the onn Outdoor Camera Plug-In and onn Floodlight Camera Hardwired. You can even long press the light button to access brightness adjustment.
- Reliable device setup: We’ve improved setup reliability for older Nest cameras so you can get your older devices up and running with greater ease.
Bug, Reliability, and Performance Fixes
What’s new in Google Home – Google Nest Help
- More reliable camera live streaming: We’ve resolved a problem that could cause your camera live stream to fail to refresh or resume after unlocking your mobile device. This ensures your live feed is always instantly ready and reliable when you check in.
- Optimized camera live view: We’ve optimized the camera live view to prevent slow performance during extended viewing sessions.
- Prevent accidental lock states: We’ve corrected the status display of smart door locks to ensure they are never shown with incorrect offline icons. This gives you accurate visibility into your home’s security status.
- Face Match setup reliability: We’ve corrected an issue where the Face Match setup flow could abruptly exit during brief network interruptions. This ensures a more reliable and frustration-free setup experience.
- Flicker-free fan controls: We’ve resolved a fan control flickering issue when manually toggling your thermostat fan on and off.
- Stable favorites reordering views: We’ve resolved a crash that could occur when rotating your screen while organizing your favorite tiles. This prevents unexpected app exits while customizing your favorites layout.
- Polished Google TV previews: We’ve resolved a visual issue where offline doorbell camera previews showed an unintended black border on Google TV.
“Gemini for Home (Early Access)”
“Gemini for Home (Early Access)” has received enhancements to answer displays and daily assistance, along with improvements to continued conversations.
Enhanced Answer Displays and Daily Assistance
Weather forecasts and general knowledge answers on smart displays have been upgraded with a refreshed visual layout.
Additionally, sports information—including match scores, schedules, and standings—has been improved to provide more accurate and up-to-date responses. This allows users to better handle inquiries such as, “What’s the weather forecast for this weekend?” or “When is the next FIFA World Cup match?”
Improvements to Continued Conversation
The stability of responses for follow-up questions and back-to-back commands using the “Continued Conversation” feature has been improved, eliminating the need for voice authentication mid-conversation.
For example, you can now ask, “What is on my calendar today?” and immediately follow up with, “What about tomorrow?”
Google Home App v4.20
The Android and iOS Google Home app version 4.20 update introduces several new features, bug fixes, and performance/stability improvements.
The v4.20 update for the Android and iOS app is scheduled to roll out to all users over the coming weeks.
Automation
A new “Suggested Automations” feature is being added.
Instead of building routines from scratch, you will now see ready-made “Automations” tailored to real-life scenarios, such as home security, morning routines, and energy savings. These can be found in the new suggestion section at the top of the Automations tab, or below your scheduled automations.
This suggested automations feature is being rolled out globally to all Android and iOS Google Home app users.
Camera
A new light button has been added to the camera view of compatible devices, allowing you to directly toggle built-in lighting on or off.
Current compatible devices include the “onn Outdoor Camera Plug-In” and “onn Floodlight Camera Hardwired.” By long-pressing the light button, you can also adjust the brightness. Furthermore, setup reliability for older Nest cameras has been improved, ensuring a smoother setup experience for legacy devices.
Bug Fixes, Stability, and Performance Improvements
The Google Home app v4.20 update for Android and iOS includes the following fixes:
- Resolved an issue where camera live streams would fail to refresh or resume after unlocking mobile devices.
- Optimized camera live view performance to prevent lag during extended viewing sessions.
- Fixed an issue where smart locks were incorrectly displayed as offline.
- Fixed an issue where the “Face Match” setup flow would force-close during brief network interruptions.
- Resolved a flickering issue when manually toggling thermostat fan controls.
- Fixed a crash that occurred when rotating the screen while organizing favorite tiles.
- Resolved a visual bug where offline doorbell camera previews showed an unintended black border on Google TV.
Google Home App Links
Source: Google