Google Home 2.19.1.18 adds Nest Cam events in Feed, better Lighting shortcuts, and more

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Google Home 2.19.1.18 is rolling out right now on the Google Play Store. I received the update an hour ago on my Pixel 4, though the Play Store changelog hasn’t been updated for me yet. Here’s the changelog from the Apple App Store for the same version:

“Improved support for quickly turning your lights on and off from the Lights quick action. The Feed tab highlights important activity from supported devices for you and other home members. Now you can see Nest Cam events in the Home feed.”

I can confirm that both features are now present in the Android app. Here’s what they look like.

New Lighting Shortcut

The Lights quick action replaces the “off” and “on” buttons at the top with a single “Lights” icon that, when tapped, brings up a sheet that lets you control all of your connected lights. Here’s a screenshot:

Nest Cam events in Feed

If you get a notification from your Nest Cam or Nest Hello Video Doorbell, you’ll now see the event in the “Feed” tab of the Google Home app. You can see the preview of the event, dismiss the event, or tap “see more” to watch a few moments of the recent recording. You can play/pause the recording, forward/rewind 10 seconds, open the Live video feed, or check what details triggered the event (motion/person detected/sound heard.) The Feed tab was introduced as part of Google Home version 2.15.

Full History of Nest Cam Events

If you view the live camera feed of your Nest Cam or Nest Hello Video Doorbell in the Google Home app, you’ll be able to view the full event history by tapping the three-dot menu and then tapping “full history.” Here you can see the events that occurred each day in chronological order. You can filter events by the camera or doorbell that the event was detected on or why the event was triggered. Some of the event trigger filters include whether a package was detected, motion was detected, or a particular sound event such as a smoke alarm, glass breaking, or dog barking was heard.

An APK teardown can often predict features that may arrive in a future update of an application, but it is possible that any of the features we mention here may not make it in a future release. This is because these features are currently unimplemented in the live build and may be pulled at any time by the developers in a future build.

Nest Aware Integration

At the Made by Google 2019 event, Google promised that the Nest app’s features will eventually be included in the Google Home app. Google also detailed a new Nest Aware subscription. It seems we’re getting closer to the two apps merging, as we managed to surface a new “Nest Aware” setting in the Google Home app’s settings page. In the device settings page for my Nest Hello Video Doorbell, I also spotted text for “familiar face detection.”

Within the Google Home app, there is also a new onboarding activity for new Nest Aware subscribers. The onboarding screens teach you what the new Nest Aware subscription offers.

Emergency Calling

As part of the new Nest Aware subscription service, the Google Home app will allow you to trigger a call to your local emergency services for your home.

Google Home 2.19.1.18 Nest Aware e911 Strings <string name="e911_address_confirmation_no_unit_number">No unit #</string> <string name="e911_address_confirmation_subtitle">"Emergency services will use this exact address when responding. To set up emergency calling, you'll need to be at this address."</string> <string name="e911_address_confirmation_title">Confirm your address</string> <string name="e911_intro_footer">This feature is only available with a paid subscription, and either sound detection turned on or at least one eligible camera. To set up emergency calling, Google will share your home address and phone number with Bandwidth Inc. Bandwidth helps us direct your call to the closest emergency call center. Read their privacy policy and terms to learn more. You can always opt-out by turning off emergency calling or removing your address in the Google Home app settings.</string> <string name="e911_intro_subtitle">Call emergency services from the Google Home app and reach the call center closest to your home</string> <string name="e911_intro_title">Set up emergency calling</string> <string name="e911_location_allow_button">Allow</string> <string name="e911_location_allow_in_settings_subtitle">"You'll need to be at this address to set up emergency calling. You can allow location in your settings."</string> <string name="e911_location_emergency_off_subtitle">You can always set this up later in your Nest Aware settings</string> <string name="e911_location_emergency_off_title">Emergency calling is off</string> <string name="e911_location_mock_location_subtitle">"You'll need to be at this address to set up emergency calling. Check your settings to remove any mock location app."</string> <string name="e911_location_pre_allow_subtitle">"You'll need to be at this address to set up emergency calling"</string> <string name="e911_location_pre_allow_title">"Allow Google Home to use your phone's location"</string> <string name="e911_location_set_up_later_button">Set up later</string> <string name="e911_location_try_again_subtitle">"You'll need to be at this address to set up emergency calling. You can always set this up later in Nest Aware settings."</string> <string name="e911_location_try_again_title">Your phone is outside the address area</string> <string name="e911_proxy_connection_failed_body">Use the dialer app or another device to call emergency services</string> <string name="e911_proxy_connection_failed_title">Connection failed</string> <string name="e911_settings_address_title">Address</string> <string name="e911_settings_button_action_sheet">Show Action Sheet</string> <string name="e911_settings_button_e933">Call 933</string> <string name="e911_settings_button_turn_off_e911">Turn off emergency calling</string> <string name="e911_settings_dialog_body">"You'll no longer be able to make emergency calls from the Google Home app"</string> <string name="e911_settings_dialog_title">Turn off emergency calling?</string> <string name="e911_settings_status_badge_issue">Issue</string> <string name="e911_settings_status_badge_verified">Verified</string> <string name="e911_settings_status_badge_verifying">Verifying</string> <string name="e911_settings_subtitle">Call emergency services from the Google Home app</string> <string name="e911_settings_title">Emergency calling</string>

Lastly, a new “safety_tips” file outlines some tips that Google may provide if an emergency is called. For example, if you call an emergency for an intruder or the smoke alarm, you may get one of these tips.

Google Home 2.19.1.18 is rolling out now on the Google Play Store. The update brings a lot of user-facing changes to the app, so we’ll be doing some more digging to see if there are also other interesting user-facing or under-the-hood changes.

Thanks to PNF Software for providing us a license to use JEB Decompiler, a professional-grade reverse engineering tool for Android applications.