On October 4th, Google announced a stunning redesign for its Home app. This redesign is supposed to enter public preview in a few weeks. But Google accidentally sent an incomplete and slightly-broken version of this redesign to select users. And you can test it yourself by installing the APK.
Signups for the Google Home public preview aren’t open yet. But as Android Police reports, a handful of Google fans figured out how to sign up early. They received an internal “dogfood” build of the redesigned app shortly after breaking into the preview program. (Google uses “dogfood” branding to warn employees that an app is confidential.)
Some more screenshots of the app: pic.twitter.com/GZISVDFzOZ
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) October 5, 2022
Now, some users can’t get the Google Home redesign to work in this “dogfood” app. But Mishaal Rahman of Esper.io managed to activate the redesign. His screenshots show that the new Google Home is much better equipped for large smart homes, and that Google’s system of “favorites” and “spaces” will help users divide segments of their smart homes into tidy little groups.
Notably, this version of Google Home is compatible with Matter. There’s a dedicated menu to set up Matter-enabled devices. But testing this feature is impossible right now—Matter 1.0 launched on October 4th, and we’re still waiting for devices to gain Matter certification and receive an update that enables Matter.
If you’re impatient or curious enough to test this confidential Google Home update, go on and download it from APK Mirror. But be warned—it’s kinda broken, and it probably won’t work with all of your smart home devices.
Source: Mishaal Rahman, Android Police
