TechTabletsGoogle gives Pixel Tablet extra purposeThe Pixel Tablet finally gets a much-wanted smart home featureWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
TechTabletsGoogle gives Pixel Tablet extra purposeThe Pixel Tablet finally gets a much-wanted smart home featureWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
The Pixel Tablet finally gets a much-wanted smart home feature
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Google)
(Image credit: Google)
TheGoogle Pixel Tabletis getting a software upgrade that’ll deliver a most wanted smart home feature: you’ll be able to get a live streamed video from yourNest Doorbell.
The new feature is part of a host of updates in theGoogleHome Public Preview, and it enables you not just to see who’s at the door but to send quick responses or start a two-way chat. You’ll need to have enrolled in the Public Preview in order to use it, and of course you’ll need both tablet and doorbell too. Thetabletneeds to be both locked and sitting in its dock to show the view in full screen mode.
The update addresses what’s been an ongoing irritation for some Pixel Tablet users, because this functionality has been available for ages in theNest Hubdevices. But now it’s here and it works with the first and second generation of the wired Nest Doorbell as well as the Nest Doorbell Battery.
How to get the latest Google Home features
TheGoogle Home Public Previewhas plenty of other updates too. There’s a new Favorites widget forAndroiddevices that enables you to control smart home devices from your home screen, and Google Home now shows more information, such as remaining battery life, for your compatible kit.
Wear OS features have been updated too, with faster access to key adjustments, a dedicated Wear OS tile for Google Home, and more options for controlling hardware. And Google Home on the web hasn’t been neglected either, with a new script editor available in the preview. The Script Editor enables you to create your own automations, and to use presence sensing to trigger actions that you’ve created.
The new updates and details of the Public Preview are online athome.google.com, and if you want to enrol in the Public Preview you can do so from within the Google Home app or from the Google Home website. As with beta software it’s important to note that these are previews of future updates, not necessarily finished products, and that means you should expect bugs, incompatibilities and other irritations until Google has had the opportunity to iron out any issues.
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