Despite announcing it was discontinuing the Chromecast family of media streamers, replacing the iconic devices with the Google TV Streamer, your humble HDMI dongle now has a useful free upgrade that includes features from Google’s new box.
Android Authority reports that the Google Home panel that was launched on the Google TV Streamer is now on Chromecast with Google TV, after launching on some Google smart TVs and other Google TV devices.
The panel lets you control your smart home devices on your TV, including lights, thermostats, cameras, and smart locks. You can access it by long-pressing the home button on your remote.
The website hasn’t confirmed whether older Chromecasts are getting the Home Panel as well, so it’s worth checking as the new software is being rolled out now.
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
Read our full Google TV Streamer review
The Home panel for Chromecast was previously only available as a preview via Google’s Public Preview program. Now, it’s available to everyone, provided you have the Google Home app set up with your account and your device in standard mode.
You can also read up on how LG OLED TV owners are getting a surprise and a big upgrade for free.
This article originally appeared on our sister publication M3 and was translated and adapted from Swedish.
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