Google Home is ready to stop you from leaving the garage door open

When you’re thinking “Google hardware” these days, everyone’s thoughts are going right to next month’s Pixel 9 launch. But Google’s got a lot more hardware than its phones (and wearables), and just yesterday we picked up the trail of what could be some new Nest Learning Thermostat and Temperature Sensor hardware. We’re following that up with some more smart home news today, as Google share word of new features for Nest cameras in the Home app.

Often find yourself wondering if your garage door is closed? Did the beam accidentally get tripped while you were pulling away and you never noticed it was still open? Irresponsible kids just can’t be bothered to close it behind them? You’re in luck, as Google is bringing AI-powered garage door state detection to Home.

This feature got started last fall in the app’s Public Preview program, and after months of testing, is finally hitting the main release. You’ll need a compatible Nest Cam connected to a wired power source, with a clear view of your garage door — from either inside or outside. Once you’ve got it configured, you can get notifications and see video clips when your garage door opens, closes, or is left open for the length of time you set as the threshold. You’ll need to be a paid Nest Aware subscriber in either the US or Canada to take advantage of this new support.

Speaking of the Public Preview, Google’s got something new it’s ready to start trying out for users up for helping with the test: support for the original wired Nest Doorbell (formally Nest Hello) in Home itself.

Google’s been slowly upgrading the Home app with robust management and timeline tools for Nest cameras. Instead of simply getting to view a live feed, cameras that have been transferred from the Nest app over to Home get access to Home’s updated camera history experience, as you can see above. While some features, like livestream sharing, are still exclusive to the Nest app, you can always move your camera back over — it’s just a little annoying that you can’t have it set up with both apps at once. If you’re interested in trying this out, get started by enrolling in the Public Preview and look for Nest Doorbell support to arrive over the next few weeks.