Google TV widely rolls out Home Panel to more streaming devices and TV sets

1 month ago 6

After debuting on Google TV Streamer and extending to Chromecast more recently, the new Home Panel has also since rolled out to Google TV sets from TCL, Hisense, and other brands.

The Home Panel on Google TV allows users to control smart home devices such as lights, fans, Nest Thermostat, and more. It also brings live views for Nest cameras, and notifications for the Nest Doorbell too. Functionality isn’t quite as strong as the standard Google Home app, but it’s still very useful.

Google rolled out the feature to Chromecast with Google TV devices a little over a week ago, and has also rolled out the feature on other Google TV sets in the time since. We’ve seen reports of the feature on TCL sets, and also found it live on Hisense TVs with Google TV. There are also reports from Xiaomi set-top boxes and more.

On these devices, functionality is identical. The only thing missing from Google TV Streamer is the ability to map the option to a dedicated button.

If you’re not seeing the feature yet, check the Quick Settings panel which can typically be accessed by long-pressing the home button. Checking for updates to Google TV Home and other apps from the Play Store may also help.