Google Home adds support for garage door controls

By Jon Bitner May 8, 2023

Google Home gives you access to a wide variety of smart home devices, and garage doors have now joined the party. Support for smart garage controllers is rolling out to select users — although it only appears to be available to folks previewing the new Google Home app and does not yet have an official release date.

Still, seeing the product category added to any version of Google Home is great news for smart home enthusiasts. Google Home is one of the most widely used smart home platforms on the market, and as smart garages continue to gain traction, it’s nice to see their inclusion in the app (even if they’re still not as popular as smart thermostats or video doorbells).

The new Google Home garage controls, featuring a pill-shaped design with open and close buttons. — MickotheNestPro / Reddit

Based on the new Google Home preview, users will eventually be given the option to open or close their garages remotely through the app. Google is currently in the process of performing a massive overhaul for Home as it integrates Matter — so expect to see plenty of other changes in the near future.

Thankfully, you probably won’t have to wait long to learn more about how the Google Home app is evolving, as Google I/O is taking place on May 10. The annual conference should take a deep dive into Google Home and how it’s planning to fully support Matter, which should include details about its garage door integration. For now, early reports indicate that Nexx and Tailwind products work via Google Home.

Prior to this update, garage door openers were displayed in Google Home but could only be controlled using Google Assistant voice commands. If you’re interested in checking out the new features, you’ll need to apply for access to the Google Home preview.

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Jon Bitner is a freelance journalist whose gaming addiction began with the SEGA Genesis. His work has been published on…

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