The latest Google Home update enhances automation controls, making it easier for you to create smarter routines.

      Google Home has expanded its support for additional starters and conditions, incorporating factors such as humidity, device status, and button presses.

      Google Home automations can significantly reduce daily inconveniences, whether it's turning on lights at an appropriate time or adjusting the temperature as you approach home. These automations represent one of the most beneficial features of Google's smart home platform.

      Recently, Google enhanced these automations by introducing a new set of starters, offering users more options to initiate routines. A new update for the Google Home app furthers this development by adding even more starters, conditions, and actions, facilitating the creation of more useful routines.

      As per the changelog on Google's support page, Google Home now includes humidity-based starters, which enable routines to activate when indoor humidity surpasses a specific threshold. For instance, users can automatically activate a dehumidifier or exhaust fan when humidity levels exceed a predetermined point, or turn off those devices once humidity stabilizes.

      Additionally, Google has introduced new device and status-based conditions, allowing routines to be triggered when a robot vacuum docks or undocks, when a device's battery is either charging or depleted, or when a switch or button is pressed. This new feature accommodates single presses, multiple presses, long presses, and releases of long presses.

      Moreover, automations can now respond to the binary state of compatible devices, as Google Home can now identify when something is open or closed, if a contact sensor is triggered, or if sensors detect issues such as leaks or freezing. This enhances safety-focused automations, like sending alerts for leaks or when a window is left open.

      In addition, Google Home has implemented a new action that allows users to set smart lights to a specific color or temperature, enabling automatic adjustments based on the context, such as switching to cool white light during the day or a warm tone in the evening.

      Besides the new automation features, the update includes a fix for an issue that hindered users from accessing recently recorded security camera footage. Google states that this fix will decrease "Video not available" errors when launching the Google Home app from notifications or during recent events.

      Pranob is an experienced tech journalist with over eight years of expertise in consumer technology reporting.

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