Google plans to roll out a redesigned Home app on May 11, with a Favorites tab, new device type support, and an eventual iOS update to support Matter devices
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge :
Context & Ripple Effects
The Home app has been Google's smart-home control surface since it was renamed from Google Cast in 2016, and Google has periodically rebuilt its front end — most recently with the Assistant app redesign that enlarged device visuals and controls, followed by a smart-display home-screen revamp in 2020.
What changes now is that the interface work catches up with the plumbing: Google finished rolling out Matter to Android and Nest in late 2022, trailing Apple and Samsung to the standard, and the May 11 redesign plus a promised iOS update are how the company closes the gap between supporting the protocol and making it usable day-to-day.
First-order effects
- Android users get the redesigned app immediately on May 11 — a Favorites tab for prioritized devices and support for new device types change how existing Nest households organize daily control.
- iOS users remain second-class until the promised update arrives: their Home app still lacks native Matter device support even though Google finished shipping Matter on Android.
Second-order effects
- Matter accessory makers who held off certifying for Google because of the missing iOS path gain an addressable audience across both platforms once the update lands, tightening competition with Apple Home and Samsung SmartThings, which reached Matter first.
- A Favorites tab raises the stakes for default placement — device categories that make the cut get recurring engagement, pressuring third-party gadget vendors to design for discoverability inside Google's layout rather than their own companion apps.
Third-order effects
- If Google follows through with opening its Home interfaces more broadly — the direction its later move to expose local Matter control and developer APIs points toward — the app shifts from a remote control into a platform layer that other vendors build against.
- Repeated front-end rebuilds layered over one connectivity standard suggest smart-home control is consolidating into a few cross-platform hubs, with each ecosystem's advantage determined by how quickly it turns protocol support like Matter into everyday UX.
The trend: Smart-home control is consolidating around a handful of cross-platform hub apps, with Google converting Matter protocol support into consumer-facing UX faster than its own past redesign cadence.