Google Assistant on Pixel is getting more robust home control

Owners of the Google Pixel and Pixel XL may soon be able to control their smart home devices from their phone, via Google Assistant. A handful of Pixel users have reported that the Assistant app has been updated to allow for such support, without the need to use the Google Home connected speaker.

According to what a tipster sent to Android Police, a new Home Control setting in the Google Assistant app is now available on his Pixel handset. It allows users to add smart home devices like lights, cameras and more that can be controlled by speaking commands to the phones. The app also lets users set up which rooms in a home have specific smart devices, for even more customization of your voice controls.

This development is certainly huge for Pixel owners who have smart devices in their house, but may not yet have purchased Google Home. The tipster stated his phone had the recently released beta of Android 7.1.2 Nougat installed, along with version 6.12.19 of the Google search app and version 10.2.98 of Google Play Services. It’s possible that this new home control support is slowly being rolled out to be tested by a tiny portion of the Pixel audience before it is made available to all owners of the handset.

Google Assistant is currently only available on the Pixel and Pixel XL in terms of smartphones, although recent rumors claim it will also be available for the LG G6 when it launches later this year. We suspect even more phones will include Google Assistant in the future, and that could also allow for the voice-based AI to expand its user base for controlling smart home devices.