Google Home app debuts color controls for smart lights
Set the mood with your color changing bulbs, no voice command required.
The Google Home app keeps getting more useful. Starting with version 2.9, you can use the app to change the color of compatible smart bulbs .
A year ago, the app was mostly used for setting up your Google Home smart speakers. An update in the fall added well-organized smart home controls to the app that mirrored those found on Google's smart displays. You could see all of your connected gadgets organized by room and control them with a touch. Now those touch controls are getting more robust.
You've long been able to change the color of your compatible bulbs with a voice command to any device with Google Assistant built in, such as the Google Home Hub smart display. If you didn't feel like talking, you had to go into the individual Philips Hue or Lifx apps to change the color of your bulbs. The newest version of the Google Home app lets you control them both from one spot.
As before, you can also turn your smart lights on or off and change their brightness with the app. You can organize your lights into rooms and control them all at once.
The code for the update was spotted on Monday by 9to5Google, who also noted newly added support for the upcoming Lenovo Smart Clock. The Smart Clock will offer a trimmed down version of the Lenovo Smart Display tailored for your nightstand. It's due out this Spring.
The update for the Google Home app hasn't hit my Android phone yet, but it's live on my coworker's iPhone . A Google representative confirmed to CNET over email that the update officially launched Wednesday and should be live for everyone over the course of the day.
