What you need to know
- Google was spotted rolling out its “Home Panel” smart home control center for the Chromecast.
- In a support document, it explains Chromecast with Google TV users will need to ensure their Home app features all their devices to work properly.
- Users will find support for lights, cameras, locks, speakers, and more.
- Home Panel originally debuted with the Google TV Streamer, but the company promised it would hit Chromecasts and other devices.
Google is reportedly rolling out a huge TV Streamer smart home feature to its past-gen streaming dongle.
A post by 9to5Google highlights the sudden appearance of Google’s “Home Panel” rolling out for Chromecast with Google TV users. The publication claims it’s spotted the update’s rollout over the past couple of days. Moreover, Google has published a support page for the feature, likely confirming its wider rollout for users. The main purpose of this feature is for users to control “compatible” smart home devices from their TV.
Google states users will find support for lights, thermostats, locks, cameras, plugs, vacuums, TVs, and speakers.
As this hits more TV sets, the post states users should see a welcome screen upon their Chromecast with Google TV’s “initial launch.” The Home Panel is an opt-in feature, and users can agree to it from this welcoming splash screen. However, you can always turn it on/off by heading into Settings > Account & Sign in > User Profile > Google Home.
Interested parties should ensure their smart home devices are connected in their Home app and that they’re TV is using the same Google account. The Home Panel will display any connected lights and cameras first with your “Favorites” and others listed below.
A Smarter Google TV
Google also highlights a few issues users might encounter, such as an error message when opening the Home Panel or an inability to access its settings. It states these issues may occur if your Google account is new, in which case you’ll need to wait ~36 hours. If these issues persist, you should check out these steps.
As previously stated, the Home Panel arrived as a core feature with the Google TV Streamer’s launch last August. The streaming “box” is Google’s next-gen product, aiming to step in for the old Chromecast. Shortly after its launch, Google updated its TV experience by introducing Gemini for show summaries, season breakdowns, and more. More importantly, the TV Streamer’s Home Panel was highlighted as a new feature coming for older Chromecasts.
However, the feature was originally popped into the company’s Public Preview test realm. It gave users a chance to sign up and test the feature before its eventual wider availability. Google was also testing the Home Panel with TCL and Hisense.
With the Google TV Streamer, consumers can quickly manage their smart home devices and receive alerts from cameras and their doorbells. The streaming box features hundreds of free channels, a wider variety of other streaming options, as well as Gemini integration for quick bits of show info.
