Google Home update brings fixes to scrolling, lighting, and Ask Home

Google is announcing version 4.1 of the Google Home app, and it brings small but sweeping fixes to those everyday headaches. The update enhances scrolling performance of camera favorites, fixes an Android lighting control state, and tidies Ask Home’s Home Brief labels while increasing Ask Home access for additional Google Home Premium subscribers.

What’s new in Google Home app version 4.1

Per both Google’s release notes and community feedback, version 4.1 is the initial tweak for the already redesigned app. The company is putting response time and clarity front and center — two qualities that smart home users consistently complain about, for good reason if everyday reliability depends on them. The headline changes are that on iOS, scrolling the Home tab is smoother when more than one camera feed is a favorite; on Android, lights should correctly show an “All on” state without needing fresh information to be displayed; and day labels in Ask Home’s Home Brief view are clearer. Ask Home, powered by Gemini, is also reaching more paying subscribers.

Camera favorites get smoother scrolling performance

Google Home owners who have pinned multiple Nest camera feeds as favorites may have noticed a jittery reading experience in the updated Home tab. Google claims 4.1 makes this significantly more rapid and, if anything, it’s even more responsive on iOS now. Camera tiles are some of the heaviest UI components in the app. By juggling snapshots, status updates, and live previews, any optimization here goes a long way. In plain language, that translates to fewer dropped frames, reduced input lag when flicking around a long list of tiles, and a Home tab that feels good to go from the moment you open it.

With homes where you’re keeping an eye on multiple entry points — front door, garage, and backyard — this tweak shaves off friction when you need speed in a time of stress. That difference is most noticeable if you have the Home tab serve as a dashboard and you have three or more camera favorites.

Better lighting controls and accurate states on Android

Google has fixed a small, though meaningful bug in the “Lights” category on Android: the “All on” button will now be properly grayed out when they aren’t all actually on. In the past, out-of-sync states could have users wondering what would be toggled with a tap — everything or something less. Uniform visual states become important when handling a large number of bulbs between different rooms and routines, especially in scenarios where users wrangle 40 or 50 devices from disparate brands under Matter and legacy integrations.

This also saves you from accidental toggles during scenes — say, dimming a nursery while the rest of your house stays lit up — where accurate state feedback prevents errors and the need to tap over and over again.

Ask Home gains wider reach and clearer Home Brief labels

Ask Home, Google Home’s conversational feature that runs on top of Gemini, is rolling out to additional select Google Home Premium users. The wider launch will bring the feature to more power users who desire natural-language commands and a summary of recent home activity. Accompanying the release, Google fixed an odd Home Brief title bug that sometimes called yesterday’s updates “today” — a small trust-undermining detail for something positioned as providing at-a-glance context.

Generative capabilities in the smart home will only work if their summaries correspond to reality. Cleaning up timestamps and labels is the sort of housekeeping that builds trust, particularly if users are saying things like “What did the front door camera record last night?” or “Did I remember to turn off the lights?”

Why these fixes matter for a faster, clearer smart home

Smart home apps are won or lost based on speed, accuracy, and clarity. Research from companies such as Parks Associates has always revealed reliability and ease of use to be leading drivers for smart home satisfaction, engagement, and longevity. In that light, a smoother scroll, an honest lighting state indicator, and accurate summaries aren’t just cosmetic features — they are fundamental to whether users feel in control.

It also makes sense timing-wise: after a major redesign like this one, quick iteration based on real-world use helps to stabilize that experience. Early adopters typically bubble up edge cases — say, camera-heavy dashboards — faster than lab testing could. Tackling those pain points early shows that Google is listening and honing in.

Availability and how to update the Google Home app

Version 4.1 is currently rolling out on Android and iOS. If you don’t see it yet, check the Play Store or App Store; staged rollouts can take a while to reach everyone. After release, scrolling will be smoother for iOS users with multiple camera favorites, and the “All on” lighting state should behave correctly for Android users. If you’re a Google Home Premium user who’s now able to try Ask Home, you can access it in the app’s refreshed interface, and the titles in Home Brief should now display the right day.

Put together, those fixes amount to small but meaningful quality-of-life improvements — the exact kind that make a smart home feel slick rather than fiddly.