So many products come together to power a smart home—light bulbs, thermostats, TVs, speakers...the list goes on and on. To make it easier for you to control all of your connected devices, we’ve been working closely with manufacturers to make sure your devices communicate and work across the smart home ecosystem. Coming soon, your Assistant and Nest devices will now interoperate more easily with your Samsung smart devices in your home.

You’ll be able access and control your Nest devices, like Nest cameras, thermostats and doorbells with the SmartThings app—and even through Samsung smart home devices, like smart TVs and refrigerators. Previously, you could only do things like set the temperature remotely or view your camera feeds from your Nest devices from the Google Home app, but now you have more ways and more places to control your smart home from (And interested developers can learn more about our Device Access program).

More Samsung smart home appliances and devices will also soon come with voice support from Google. So you can say “Hey Google, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.” And we recently announced that Google Assistant is available on Samsung’s latest lineup of Smart TVs, making it easy to turn your TV on or off, change channels and control the volume without even getting off your couch or digging for the remote. 

Setting up your smart devices will also be easier: Samsung now offers simple linking with your Google Assistant right from multiple Samsung apps, including SmartThings to streamline the process. Plus, we’ve also expanded the Google Assistant control of Samsung devices across six new languages (Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Korean and Japanese) to meet users in their native languages.

And to make it even easier to quickly control all your smart home devices, we’re working to bring one of our favorite features of Android 11 to Samsung’s new Galaxy smartphones. When you tap on "Devices" in the Quick Panel of the phone, you can choose an option among multiple apps and see all connected devices within the app on one screen.

Whether you’re starting the dishwasher or checking the porch for packages, Google, Samsung and SmartThings can make the increasingly connected home a little bit smarter. 

So many products come together to power a smart home—light bulbs, thermostats, TVs, speakers...the list goes on and on. To make it easier for you to control all of your connected devices, we’ve been working closely with manufacturers to make sure your devices communicate and work across the smart home ecosystem. Coming soon, your Assistant and Nest devices will now interoperate more easily with your Samsung smart devices in your home.

You’ll be able access and control your Nest devices, like Nest cameras, thermostats and doorbells with the SmartThings app—and even through Samsung smart home devices, like smart TVs and refrigerators. Previously, you could only do things like set the temperature remotely or view your camera feeds from your Nest devices from the Google Home app, but now you have more ways and more places to control your smart home from (And interested developers can learn more about our Device Access program).

More Samsung smart home appliances and devices will also soon come with voice support from Google. So you can say “Hey Google, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.” And we recently announced that Google Assistant is available on Samsung’s latest lineup of Smart TVs, making it easy to turn your TV on or off, change channels and control the volume without even getting off your couch or digging for the remote. 

Setting up your smart devices will also be easier: Samsung now offers simple linking with your Google Assistant right from multiple Samsung apps, including SmartThings to streamline the process. Plus, we’ve also expanded the Google Assistant control of Samsung devices across six new languages (Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Korean and Japanese) to meet users in their native languages.

And to make it even easier to quickly control all your smart home devices, we’re working to bring one of our favorite features of Android 11 to Samsung’s new Galaxy smartphones. When you tap on "Devices" in the Quick Panel of the phone, you can choose an option among multiple apps and see all connected devices within the app on one screen.

Whether you’re starting the dishwasher or checking the porch for packages, Google, Samsung and SmartThings can make the increasingly connected home a little bit smarter. 

When my daughter Ruth was born this January, she was a handful. Literally. In the early months of her life, she refused to be put down, fussing and screaming unless we were holding her, walking up and down the hallways of our home. I became a sleep-deprived zombie, shuffling around with one arm free to get some much-needed coffee. And that was on a good day. 

I needed all the help I could get. And for me, some of that help came in the form of Google Assistant. Thanks to the Google Nest devices around my house, I was able to get things done a little easier by saying, “Hey Google, turn the temperature down” or “Hey Google, play some soothing music.”  

If you’re thinking about the frazzled parents in your life this holiday season, there are a variety of Nest products that might be just right for your gift list. Here are a few suggestions to get you started. 

For the parents who are music lovers

Whether your kid blisses out to classic rock or gets hyped up to the umpteenth playing of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” music is key to getting a little bit of peace in the house. The new Nest Audio can play songs via your favorite streaming music subscriptions with a simple voice command. Plus, it features Media EQ that automatically adjusts the volume based on the background noise in your home. Want to play white noise to soothe your crying baby while you get her bottle ready? It’ll be loud enough to hear over all that whining.  

For the nursery that absolutely must be perfect

In our house, the temperature can fluctuate depending on what time of day it is. That makes it tough to make sure Ruth is at a comfy temperature for naps and nights. Luckily, the new Nest Thermostat offers Quick Schedule, which lets you set a custom temperature at different times of the day. That way, we can make sure Ruth’s nursery is at the right temperature at night, but our office isn’t stiflingly hot during the day. Plus, the thermostat is simple to use and at an affordable price, which makes it an easy fit for many families.   

For the family looking for shows to watch together

With the COVID-19 pandemic making families stay home more than usual, that means it’s extra crucial to find shows everyone agrees on. Thankfully, the new Chromecast with Google TV gives you personalized recommendations based on what you like to watch. And its new remote lets you control your smart home using Google Assistant.  

For the couple constantly shouting across the house

We have various Nest devices throughout the house, and we use them to communicate with one another. If I’m feeding Ruth in the nursery downstairs and she’s hungrier than I expect, for example, I say, “Hey Google, broadcast to Kitchen Display: ‘I need another bottle,’” so my husband can bring down a bottle. And when tracking how much she drank, we’d ask the Assistant to convert milliliters to ounces, or just do basic addition and subtraction when we were too sleepy to calculate how much she had to eat. Data-loving parents like me can also use a list to track feeding amounts and nap times via Keep, Docs or other note-taking apps. 

For the grandparents who miss their little ones

My daughter was born in the months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, so we were lucky to have family come by and help out until she was about two months old. But by March, we were quarantined, leaving the grandparents sorely missing their granddaughter. With our Nest Hub Max, we can make hands-free video calls on Google Duo—and when the baby naps, we can quickly decline a few overenthusiastic calls from Grandpa’s Nest Smart Display or smartphone app. And the Hub Max’s camera angle moves with us throughout the room, so we can get chores done (or just keep Ruth happy) while we keep in touch. 

These days, Ruth can handle being put down. (Well, at least sometimes.) But I know that Nest will keep being a helping hand as she gets older—and especially when she asks me to play cartoons on repeat. 

When my daughter Ruth was born this January, she was a handful. Literally. In the early months of her life, she refused to be put down, fussing and screaming unless we were holding her, walking up and down the hallways of our home. I became a sleep-deprived zombie, shuffling around with one arm free to get some much-needed coffee. And that was on a good day. 

I needed all the help I could get. And for me, some of that help came in the form of Google Assistant. Thanks to the Google Nest devices around my house, I was able to get things done a little easier by saying, “Hey Google, turn the temperature down” or “Hey Google, play some soothing music.”  

If you’re thinking about the frazzled parents in your life this holiday season, there are a variety of Nest products that might be just right for your gift list. Here are a few suggestions to get you started. 

For the parents who are music lovers

Whether your kid blisses out to classic rock or gets hyped up to the umpteenth playing of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” music is key to getting a little bit of peace in the house. The new Nest Audio can play songs via your favorite streaming music subscriptions with a simple voice command. Plus, it features Media EQ that automatically adjusts the volume based on the background noise in your home. Want to play white noise to soothe your crying baby while you get her bottle ready? It’ll be loud enough to hear over all that whining.  

For the nursery that absolutely must be perfect

In our house, the temperature can fluctuate depending on what time of day it is. That makes it tough to make sure Ruth is at a comfy temperature for naps and nights. Luckily, the new Nest Thermostat offers Quick Schedule, which lets you set a custom temperature at different times of the day. That way, we can make sure Ruth’s nursery is at the right temperature at night, but our office isn’t stiflingly hot during the day. Plus, the thermostat is simple to use and at an affordable price, which makes it an easy fit for many families.   

For the family looking for shows to watch together

With the COVID-19 pandemic making families stay home more than usual, that means it’s extra crucial to find shows everyone agrees on. Thankfully, the new Chromecast with Google TV gives you personalized recommendations based on what you like to watch. And its new remote lets you control your smart home using Google Assistant.  

For the couple constantly shouting across the house

We have various Nest devices throughout the house, and we use them to communicate with one another. If I’m feeding Ruth in the nursery downstairs and she’s hungrier than I expect, for example, I say, “Hey Google, broadcast to Kitchen Display: ‘I need another bottle,’” so my husband can bring down a bottle. And when tracking how much she drank, we’d ask the Assistant to convert milliliters to ounces, or just do basic addition and subtraction when we were too sleepy to calculate how much she had to eat. Data-loving parents like me can also use a list to track feeding amounts and nap times via Keep, Docs or other note-taking apps. 

For the grandparents who miss their little ones

My daughter was born in the months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, so we were lucky to have family come by and help out until she was about two months old. But by March, we were quarantined, leaving the grandparents sorely missing their granddaughter. With our Nest Hub Max, we can make hands-free video calls on Google Duo—and when the baby naps, we can quickly decline a few overenthusiastic calls from Grandpa’s Nest Smart Display or smartphone app. And the Hub Max’s camera angle moves with us throughout the room, so we can get chores done (or just keep Ruth happy) while we keep in touch. 

These days, Ruth can handle being put down. (Well, at least sometimes.) But I know that Nest will keep being a helping hand as she gets older—and especially when she asks me to play cartoons on repeat. 

Every day, people ask Google for help with things like catching up on their favorite shows, turning on their garage lights, filling their homes with relaxing music, playing games and even keeping their family on track. As we expect more of our smart home devices, Smart Displays are increasingly becoming a hub that entertains and connects the whole home and whole family, all day (and night) long. 

Today, we’re introducing a brand new experience that builds on the smarts of Google and visual capabilities of Smart Displays. Here are 10 ways these updates make the whole day go a little more smoothly:

1. A new visual experience to jumpstart your day.As you begin your day, just tap the new “Your morning” page to get things off to a good start. You’ll see things like a reminder for your first meeting, a run down of the morning news and a glance at the weather ahead. This page evolves throughout the day to reflect “Your afternoon” and “Your evening” so that the recommendations you see changes as your day does. 
2. Entertainment for the whole family.Whether you want to listen to a podcast while you prepare breakfast in the morning or are looking for a TV show to wind down after a long day, the “Media” page will suggest videos or shows to keep everyone in the house entertained, while also offering suggestions from our music and video platforms like Disney+, Netflix, YouTube TV and Spotify.
3. Control the whole home in one place.The new visual layout also has a “Home control” page, where you can control the connected devices throughout the house (so you can turn off the lights in the bedroom or take a look at who’s at the front door). 
4. More tools for staying in touch and staying productive.We recently added more ways to stay in touch with friends, family and coworkers on your Smart Display with Google Meet and Duo—and Zoom is coming to Assistant-enabled Smart Displays later this year. Use the “Communicate” page to start a new meeting, call one of your household contacts or even message your kids in another room using a Broadcast card..
5. Discover other helpful features.While the new visual experience is catered to help you manage your day, we know everyone likes to have a little fun with the device too. Scroll over to the "Discover" page to explore more of what your smart display can do.
6. Now available: All of your accounts in one place. If you have separate personal and work accounts, you can now set up multiple accounts on Google Assistant devices to see and interact with all of your upcoming events and meetings in one place—without having to switch between your personal or work account. For example, on your Google Nest Hub Max, you can now quickly tap or ask to join your next meeting (“Hey Google, join my next meeting”), whether it’s a personal yoga class or a conference call.  This is now supported on Assistant-enabled devices where you can access your Calendar, like phones (Android and iOS), shared devices such as smart speakers and Smart Displays, and for Google Workspace users enrolled in the Google Assistant Beta Program. 
7. Make sure you’re always in the picture.Meet on Nest Hub Max will now auto-frame to keep the camera centered on you if you move around. You can also customize how Meet looks on your Smart Display so it’s easier to see a specific person or details in a presentation with pinning, four-person grids and pinch and zoom—coming later this year. We’ve also added new menu options to give you the ability to cancel and reschedule Meet meetings right from your Smart Displays, and you can even send a message to let others know if you need to find a new time or if you’re running late.
8. Dark theme, now on your Smart Display.Dark Theme changes the color scheme of the interface and reduces light emission, so it's easier on the eyes at night while still providing you with visual and touch access. You can also keep the classic Light Theme or set to “Automatic'' so that the display will adjust naturally based on the ambient light or when the sun rises and sets. 
   
9. Choose relaxing sounds for drifting off to sleep.The new visual experience also features the “Your evening” page, where you can select from different relaxing sounds to make going to sleep just a little more pleasant. Maybe you prefer tranquil rainfall or the sounds of crickets, or you can ask Google to choose one for you. A sleep timer will fade out the sound, or you can let it play all night—go ahead, you deserve it.
10. Finally, start the next day with the new Sunrise Alarm.With Sunrise Alarm—coming to Smart Displays soon—the brightness of the screen will gradually increase starting 30 minutes before your alarm goes off, mimicking the sunrise so you wake up naturally. You can also set different alarms for different days of the week and choose different ringtones for them (because who wants to wake up at 7 a.m. on Saturday!?). The best part? When the alarm goes off, you can just say “stop” without having to say “Hey Google.”

No two homes are alike: The things, people and routines that fill them are totally unique. That’s why the Nest team is so focused on creating flexible, customizable products and tools that can help everyone—and every home—function more smoothly, and more joyfully. 

Personally, my recipe for Nest-enabled home happiness starts in the kitchen with my Google Nest Hub Max, which I consider my personal sous chef. There’s a Google Nest Wifi point (which doubles as a smart speaker) in the guest room-turned-makeshift-home-office and an original Google Home in the dining room (turned-second-makeshift-home-office). A Google Nest Hub sits on my nightstand, and a Google Nest Mini lives in the entryway. Then, I have our newest product, two Google Nest Audios, stereo-paired in the living room for premium sound. That might sound like a lot of devices for a two-bedroom apartment, but my husband and I have found that having them throughout our place helps us make the most of all the time we’re spending here, whether it's setting the mood with our favorite music or getting helpful information from Google Assistant. 

Today, you can buy Nest Audio online at the Google Store and at other retailers including Target, Best Buy and more. So, to celebrate, I asked around the Nest team to see what my colleagues' at-home setups look like, too. 

Indu Ancha, Product Design Engineering Lead

My husband and I have a Nest Hub Max in our kitchen, which opens directly into our living room, so it essentially sits in both. We also use it to look in on the house when we aren’t home...or to catch the dog sneaking onto the couch! Of course we most often rely on it for features like setting cooking timers. And we actually use it as the main control for our TV since we paired it with the latest Chromecast with Google TV. We use the Nest Audio in the office—it’s perfect for WFH jam sessions, and to play music that helps us focus. And then there’s a Nest Mini upstairs in the guest room. We regularly use the broadcast function, too, especially if one of us is upstairs and the other is downstairs. And because we have Nest Wifi points around the house, everything works super reliably. 

Jesper Ramsgaard, Audio User Experience Researcher 

Because of COVID-19, like many people my wife and I have been staying home more this year...which I think our two cats appreciate. The time at home has definitely led us to make plenty of use of our Nest speaker system: We have a Nest Hub Max in the kitchen, two Nest Audios in the living room and a Nest Mini in the bedroom. The Nest Hub Max in the kitchen is great for finding recipes and setting cooking timers, but we also use it to watch Netflix or YouTube and to video call our family. And we have our Nest Audios in stereo setup in the living room, which really fills the house with music if we want it to. It’s been encouraging to listen to more music and really enjoy it more on a daily basis. 

Gabe Slotnick, Audio Engineering Lead

I live with my wife and dog, and we have a Nest Hub Max in the kitchen, a Google Home Max in the living room, and a stereo pair of Nest Audios in the bedroom. Oh, and I also have the new Chromecast with Google TV paired with our living room TV and a Chromecast Audio for my old traditional stereo system. I’ve found that mixing smart displays and speakers throughout our home creates an amazing combination of fantastic sound quality and contextual reminders throughout the day. I love the flexibility of how the devices can interact with each other and how I can access different features and services as I move around my house.

Arianna Clem, Beta Programs Manager

I have two Nest Audios set up using the speaker pair in my room, to give me full surround sound while I get into the zone—which is so helpful when I’m working from home. Of course, it’s also great for dance breaks! I use my Nest Mini while I’m getting ready for the day to go over my schedule and start off the morning with some news and good tunes. Once I’m ready, I use stream transfer to move whatever I’m listening to my other Nest Mini in my work space. 

Erick Low, Senior Product Marketing Manager

No two homes are alike: The things, people and routines that fill them are totally unique. That’s why the Nest team is so focused on creating flexible, customizable products and tools that can help everyone—and every home—function more smoothly, and more joyfully. 

Personally, my recipe for Nest-enabled home happiness starts in the kitchen with my Google Nest Hub Max, which I consider my personal sous chef. There’s a Google Nest Wifi point (which doubles as a smart speaker) in the guest room-turned-makeshift-home-office and an original Google Home in the dining room (turned-second-makeshift-home-office). A Google Nest Hub sits on my nightstand, and a Google Nest Mini lives in the entryway. Then, I have our newest product, two Google Nest Audios, stereo-paired in the living room for premium sound. That might sound like a lot of devices for a two-bedroom apartment, but my husband and I have found that having them throughout our place helps us make the most of all the time we’re spending here, whether it's setting the mood with our favorite music or getting helpful information from Google Assistant. 

Today, you can buy Nest Audio online at the Google Store and at other retailers including Target, Best Buy and more. So, to celebrate, I asked around the Nest team to see what my colleagues' at-home setups look like, too. 

Indu Ancha, Product Design Engineering Lead

My husband and I have a Nest Hub Max in our kitchen, which opens directly into our living room, so it essentially sits in both. We also use it to look in on the house when we aren’t home...or to catch the dog sneaking onto the couch! Of course we most often rely on it for features like setting cooking timers. And we actually use it as the main control for our TV since we paired it with the latest Chromecast with Google TV. We use the Nest Audio in the office—it’s perfect for WFH jam sessions, and to play music that helps us focus. And then there’s a Nest Mini upstairs in the guest room. We regularly use the broadcast function, too, especially if one of us is upstairs and the other is downstairs. And because we have Nest Wifi points around the house, everything works super reliably. 

Jesper Ramsgaard, Audio User Experience Researcher 

Because of COVID-19, like many people my wife and I have been staying home more this year...which I think our two cats appreciate. The time at home has definitely led us to make plenty of use of our Nest speaker system: We have a Nest Hub Max in the kitchen, two Nest Audios in the living room and a Nest Mini in the bedroom. The Nest Hub Max in the kitchen is great for finding recipes and setting cooking timers, but we also use it to watch Netflix or YouTube and to video call our family. And we have our Nest Audios in stereo setup in the living room, which really fills the house with music if we want it to. It’s been encouraging to listen to more music and really enjoy it more on a daily basis. 

Gabe Slotnick, Audio Engineering Lead

I live with my wife and dog, and we have a Nest Hub Max in the kitchen, a Google Home Max in the living room, and a stereo pair of Nest Audios in the bedroom. Oh, and I also have the new Chromecast with Google TV paired with our living room TV and a Chromecast Audio for my old traditional stereo system. I’ve found that mixing smart displays and speakers throughout our home creates an amazing combination of fantastic sound quality and contextual reminders throughout the day. I love the flexibility of how the devices can interact with each other and how I can access different features and services as I move around my house.

Arianna Clem, Beta Programs Manager

I have two Nest Audios set up using the speaker pair in my room, to give me full surround sound while I get into the zone—which is so helpful when I’m working from home. Of course, it’s also great for dance breaks! I use my Nest Mini while I’m getting ready for the day to go over my schedule and start off the morning with some news and good tunes. Once I’m ready, I use stream transfer to move whatever I’m listening to my other Nest Mini in my work space. 

Erick Low, Senior Product Marketing Manager

No two homes are alike: The things, people and routines that fill them are totally unique. That’s why the Nest team is so focused on creating flexible, customizable products and tools that can help everyone—and every home—function more smoothly, and more joyfully. 

Personally, my recipe for Nest-enabled home happiness starts in the kitchen with my Google Nest Hub Max, which I consider my personal sous chef. There’s a Google Nest Wifi point (which doubles as a smart speaker) in the guest room-turned-makeshift-home-office and an original Google Home in the dining room (turned-second-makeshift-home-office). A Google Nest Hub sits on my nightstand, and a Google Nest Mini lives in the entryway. Then, I have our newest product, two Google Nest Audios, stereo-paired in the living room for premium sound. That might sound like a lot of devices for a two-bedroom apartment, but my husband and I have found that having them throughout our place helps us make the most of all the time we’re spending here, whether it's setting the mood with our favorite music or getting helpful information from Google Assistant. 

Today, you can buy Nest Audio online at the Google Store and at other retailers including Target, Best Buy and more. So, to celebrate, I asked around the Nest team to see what my colleagues' at-home setups look like, too. 

Indu Ancha, Product Design Engineering Lead

My husband and I have a Nest Hub Max in our kitchen, which opens directly into our living room, so it essentially sits in both. We also use it to look in on the house when we aren’t home...or to catch the dog sneaking onto the couch! Of course we most often rely on it for features like setting cooking timers. And we actually use it as the main control for our TV since we paired it with the latest Chromecast with Google TV. We use the Nest Audio in the office—it’s perfect for WFH jam sessions, and to play music that helps us focus. And then there’s a Nest Mini upstairs in the guest room. We regularly use the broadcast function, too, especially if one of us is upstairs and the other is downstairs. And because we have Nest Wifi points around the house, everything works super reliably. 

Jesper Ramsgaard, Audio User Experience Researcher 

Because of COVID-19, like many people my wife and I have been staying home more this year...which I think our two cats appreciate. The time at home has definitely led us to make plenty of use of our Nest speaker system: We have a Nest Hub Max in the kitchen, two Nest Audios in the living room and a Nest Mini in the bedroom. The Nest Hub Max in the kitchen is great for finding recipes and setting cooking timers, but we also use it to watch Netflix or YouTube and to video call our family. And we have our Nest Audios in stereo setup in the living room, which really fills the house with music if we want it to. It’s been encouraging to listen to more music and really enjoy it more on a daily basis. 

Gabe Slotnick, Audio Engineering Lead

I live with my wife and dog, and we have a Nest Hub Max in the kitchen, a Google Home Max in the living room, and a stereo pair of Nest Audios in the bedroom. Oh, and I also have the new Chromecast with Google TV paired with our living room TV and a Chromecast Audio for my old traditional stereo system. I’ve found that mixing smart displays and speakers throughout our home creates an amazing combination of fantastic sound quality and contextual reminders throughout the day. I love the flexibility of how the devices can interact with each other and how I can access different features and services as I move around my house.

Arianna Clem, Beta Programs Manager

I have two Nest Audios set up using the speaker pair in my room, to give me full surround sound while I get into the zone—which is so helpful when I’m working from home. Of course, it’s also great for dance breaks! I use my Nest Mini while I’m getting ready for the day to go over my schedule and start off the morning with some news and good tunes. Once I’m ready, I use stream transfer to move whatever I’m listening to my other Nest Mini in my work space. 

Erick Low, Senior Product Marketing Manager