What you need to know
- Google is rolling out a Google Home app update for Android following its major redesign earlier this month.
- The update expands availability of Ask Home, a feature that adds conversational requests and daily summaries.
- It also comes with bug fixes and improvements based on user feedback about the ambitious version 4.0 overhaul.
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Google is rolling out version 4.1 of the Google Home app for iOS and Android, bringing the "Ask Home" feature to more users alongside other improvements.
It's the follow-up update to the major version 4.0 release of the Google Home app, which debuted earlier this month. That overhaul brought a new user-interface built on Material 3 Expressive design and Google AI smarts. A few weeks later, Google's latest Google Home app update includes bug fixes and feature revisions based on user feedback.
"We’re listening and actively making improvements based on your input," Google wrote in the release notes for version 4.1.
Notably, the latest version of the Google Home app expands availability of Ask Home to more users, provided they have access to Google Home Premium. Ask Home allows users to get answers to quick questions about their home from a natural language chatbot. It can provide daily summaries, handle complex multi-step queries, and serve as a search bar for in-app toggles.
The Google Home redesign split the app into three distinct pages: Home, Activity, and Automations. However, some users reported issues with scrolling in the Home tab on iOS following the overhaul. In the version 4.1 revision, Google says the Home tab experience is now "smoother and more responsive."
The company also fixed a bug affecting the color status for items in the Lights category on the Android app. The prior version failed to change color when a light was turned off, but it now turns grey as expected.
Finally, the Google Home app now includes a fix for Ask Home summaries being described incorrectly. The release notes explain that summaries were sometimes called "today's Home Brief" when they were actually about the day prior.
What do I need to use Ask Home in the new Google Home app?
Google is rolling out Ask Home to more users with the release of version 4.1 of the Home app, but you'll need a Google Home Premium subscription. There's a standard version for $10 per month or $100 per year, or an advanced tier for $20 per month or $200 per year. It's the successor to Nest Aware, the previous subscription service for Google Home and Nest products.
However, you might already be getting Google Home Premium access for free. Google AI Pro users get the standard version included, while Google AI Ultra users get the advanced version included. You get a year of Google AI Pro for free with the purchase of an eligible Pixel phone.
Check the Google Play Store to see if your Google Home app is up-to-date.
What is the "Ask Home" feature?
Ask Home is a natural language chatbot feature that allows users to ask conversational questions about their smart home. It can provide daily summaries, handle complex multi-step queries, get answers to quick questions about your home, and act as a search bar for finding in-app toggles.
