The Google Store has been running daily promos for over a month, and although most of the deals have been rather disappointing compared to previous discounts, the videos featuring Fred Armisen were fun to watch. Yesterday’s video also included a little Easter egg: Fred unlocks his Nest x Yale slot right from the Home app.
As shown in the promo, smart locks should (soon, hopefully) show their current status in the Home app, so unlike the current random icon you will see if the door is locked or not. Touching and holding the lock icon in the middle will unlock it. The experience should be very similar to the Nest app, and with Google migrating as much functionality as it could from the Nest to the Home app, this comes as no surprise.
You can see the corresponding section in the video below, round the 0:39 mark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAMcFZwv-2k
Unlocking and locking the doors with the Assistant remained an audio-only affair for a long time, and it was not until May that we noticed more controls being added, but only on Nest Hubs and Third-Party Assistant displays, and only for non- Nest locks. For example, my Nuki can be unlocked from my Lenovo Smart Display, and I can even enter the on-screen password to continue the process.
This functionality has still made it for the Home app, whether it’s for the Nuki or Nest or other locks, and the promo video is the first time we’ve seen it in action there. Hopefully it won’t take a long time to roll out, and while we’re at it, I hope the Smart Display’s new controls for blinds, vacuum, Shield, and more make it to the Home app as well.
