Google Home app update lets you control the color of smart bulbs and lamps

20 years ago, the concept of “smart homes” would have been perceived as science fiction by many of us. Even today, it remains a strange concept among much of the population. But the truth is that it is very much a reality, and something many of you can probably enjoy having. Using your phone or other devices, you can control many parts of your home including the lighting, the temperature, and many, many other things. One company that’s spearheading the smart home business, along with Amazon, is Google.

The Google Home app allows you to control your smart speakers, IP cameras, smart lights, smart switches, and many other products compatible with the Google Home ecosystem. However, if you owned a smart light or lamp like the Xiaomi Mi Smart Bedside Lamp, you were better off using the official app since all you could do in Google’s app is turn it on and off or change the brightness. The latest version of the Google Home app adds a button that lets you choose the color of the supported smart bulb or lamp, too. Users have a range of colors to choose from, some of which are shown below.

Controlling the color of a lamp’s light with the Google Home app.

This is a very small change, but one that is appreciated because it means you’ll need to use one less app to control basic hardware in your home. If you have a couple of smart lights, then we recommend you take another look at the Google Home app for this new functionality. The update is now rolling out through the Google Play Store as it did for us, or you can skip the wait and grab the APK from APKMirror.

Google Home (Free, Google Play) →