What’s New in Google Home: August 20, 2026

On Thursday, August 20, 2026 (local time), Google released the latest update information, “What’s new in Google Home,” detailing new features and improvements being rolled out for the smart home service “Google Home.”

This edition of “What’s new in Google Home” announces several feature enhancements and bug fixes, including improvements to “Spotify” song selection accuracy, lighting control with specified color temperatures, and improved “Broadcast” voice command methods for “Gemini for Home (Early Access).” It also introduces latch control support for European-style smart locks, unified temperature unit displays, and improved camera feature stability in the “Google Home” app.

Release notes for 2026

August 20, 2026

Gemini for Home (Early access)

Voice Assistant

• Better Spotify media selection: We’ve improved how we recognize the songs, artists, and playlists you request on Spotify. This means higher success for playing exactly the music you want to hear, making your listening experience much smoother.Try saying:
  • “Hey Google, play my Liked songs on Spotify.”*
  *Note: Personal Results need to be enabled to play your Liked songs or personal playlists.
• Better control the color temperature for your lights: Use your voice to set your smart lights to specific color temperatures, such as a warm 2700 kelvins. This allows you to perfectly tailor the ambiance and mood of your home environment to suit any occasion.Try saying:
  • “Hey Google, make the living room lights 2700 kelvins.”
• Broadcast messages more easily in your home: Now you can say “OK Google, broadcast message” and then follow up with the message you want to send in a separate command. Previously you were required to say it all in one long request. Now it works both ways.

Google Home app

• Latch control for European-style smart locks: Independently control unlatching and unlocking for compatible European-style smart locks. Also see detailed latch descriptions (such as “Unlocked and latched”) so you have full visibility into your door’s physical state at a glance.
• Consistent temperature units: Temperatures throughout the app, voice commands, and Google Nest devices will now always match your preferred unit of measurement, whether you use Celsius or Fahrenheit. You can personalize your preferred unit through settings in the Google Home App. (Home Settings  Temperature Units).
• Precise Fahrenheit temperature rounding (iOS): Resolved an issue where half-degree temperature setpoints (such as 76.5°F) were improperly rounded down to whole numbers on thermostat screens.

Camera

• Reduced app crashes across iOS: Fixes for top camera-related crashes have rolled out. Fixing these crashes creates a more reliable camera experience.
• Clearer offline camera controls (iOS): When viewing a camera that is offline or experiencing a connection issue, player controls (such as camera settings and exit buttons) now remain visible and accessible alongside the error message, making it easy to troubleshoot or navigate away.
• Live stream HD resolution (Android): Fixed an issue where live camera feeds could get stuck at low 360p resolution instead of automatically streaming in full high definition.

Google Home Premium

• Avoid interruptions to your subscription: To help ensure your home stays protected without interruption, you’ll now see a clear alert in the app if your payment fails. This makes it easy to update your billing info before you lose your camera history or other features.

What’s new in Google Home – Google Nest Help

“Gemini for Home (Early Access)”

Updates for “Gemini for Home (Early Access)” include improved Spotify music selection accuracy, lighting control with specified color temperatures, and improved “Broadcast” voice command methods.

Improved “Spotify” Music Selection Accuracy

Recognition accuracy when requesting songs, artists, and playlists on “Spotify” has been improved, increasing the likelihood of playing the exact music you intended.

Please note that using “Spotify” features requires “Personal Results” to be enabled.

Lighting Control with Specified Color Temperatures

You can now adjust your lights by specifying exact color temperature values, such as “Set the living room lights to 2,700 kelvins.”

This allows you to create more finely tuned room ambiances tailored to any occasion or mood.

Improved “Broadcast” Voice Command Methods

The system now supports a two-step voice command process: you can say “OK Google, broadcast,” and then follow up with the message you want to send in a separate command.

Previously, “Broadcast” required all content to be included in a single utterance, but moving forward, you will be able to use either method—a single utterance or the two-step voice command.

“Google Home” App

Updates for the Android and iOS versions of the “Google Home” app include latch control support for European-style smart locks, unified temperature unit displays and bug fixes, and improvements and bug fixes related to network cameras.

Latch Control Support for European-Style Smart Locks

The “Google Home” app now allows you to independently control unlatching and unlocking for compatible European-style smart locks.

Additionally, detailed latch status descriptions such as “Unlocked and latched” will be displayed, giving you a clear, at-a-glance view of your door’s physical state.

Unified Temperature Unit Displays and Bug Fixes

Temperature displays across the app, voice commands, and “Google Nest” devices will now always match your configured unit (Celsius or Fahrenheit).

Temperature unit settings can be changed from “Home Settings” → “Temperature Units” in the “Google Home” app. Furthermore, in the iOS version of the “Google Home” app, a bug where half-degree temperature setpoints (such as 76.5°F) on thermostat screens were incorrectly rounded down to whole numbers has been resolved.

Camera

Major camera-related issues have been resolved in the iOS version of the “Google Home” app, improving the stability of camera features.

Additionally, when viewing a camera that is offline or experiencing a connection error, control buttons such as camera settings and exit buttons will now remain visible alongside the error message, making troubleshooting and navigation easier. In the Android version of the “Google Home” app, an issue where live video feeds were stuck at a low 360p resolution instead of streaming in full HD has been fixed.

“Google Home Premium” Payment Failure Alert

If a payment for “Google Home Premium” fails, a clear alert will now appear within the app.

This makes it easy to update your billing information before you lose access to camera video history and other features.

“Google Home” App Links

Source：Google