Rich notifications are finally available through the Google Home app
A new update to the Google Home app ensures that Wear OS 3 smartwatch owners can now view rich notifications from their enabled smart camera or video doorbell.
The long-awaited feature arrives as part of the Google Home Public Preview, with the company announcing in a blog post that the test of these notifications will be rolling out to devices like the Google Pixel Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch 5.
Instead of simply receiving a text-based notification relating to a camera event, the new functionality will ensure that watch owners will now be able to see exactly who’s at their door or around their property.
Unfortunately, the support still doesn’t extend to the same kind of GIF or full video you would expect from your smartphone, but the move to a single still image should represent a big improvement, nonetheless.
There is another caveat to be aware of, however – the initial test will only include Google Nest cameras and doorbells released in 2021 or later.
Whether it expands to include other smart devices in the future is unknown, but, with the emergence of Matter – the new, unifying smart home standard – we’d expect notifications to continue undergoing improvement.
Given the Google Home app for Wear OS 3 already includes the ability to control smart devices such as lights and thermostats, as well, this would refine an already-great integration.
And with Google I/O coming up in May, it’s possible the full rollout of these new notifications will arrive around the same time.
And, hey, maybe we’ll even be treated to a first look at the Google Pixel Watch 2.
