Google seeks user assistance in redesigning the Home app experience

San Francisco: Google is inviting Nest product owners to join the testing phase for a new design of its Home app, an online listing reveals, suggesting that users may soon see a revamped experience on the service.

The company is “recruiting for a group of highly engaged testers that are willing to help Google Nest test an unreleased product”.

The company did not specify the product in question but stated that the testing would focus on a “next generation design” of the Google Home app.

The programme is open to anyone who owns any of the best Google Home compatible devices, including “thermostats, Wifi, Speakers, displays, cameras, doorbells, locks, Nest Protect (smoke alarms), and Chromecasts”.

The report mentioned that users willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement can participate in the testing phase.

The testing comes six months after Google introduced changes to the Home app, including a new device control interface that replaced the device icons with interactive toggles.

About Google Nest

Google Nest is a line of smart home products including smart speakers, smart displays, streaming devices, thermostats, smoke detectors, routers and security systems including smart doorbells, cameras and smart locks.

The Nest brand name was originally owned by Nest Labs, co-founded by former Apple engineers Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers in 2010. Its flagship product, which was the company’s first offering, is the Nest Learning Thermostat, introduced in 2011. The product is programmable, self-learning, sensor-driven, and Wi-Fi-enabled: features that are often found in other Nest products. It was followed by the Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in October 2013. After its acquisition of Dropcam in 2014, the company introduced its Nest Cam branding of security cameras beginning in June 2015.

The company quickly expanded to more than 130 employees by the end of 2012. Google acquired Nest Labs for US$3.2 billion in January 2014, when the company employed 280. As of late 2015, Nest employs more than 1,100 and added a primary engineering centre in Seattle.

Source: Agencies Google redesign home app Google redesign home app