What you need to know
- You can now control your Google Nest devices with Samsung's SmartThings app.
- Reddit reports suggest the update was rolled out at the start of the week.
- Google and Samsung had promised the feature back in December.
During its launch yesterday of the Galaxy S21 series — arguably the best Android phones around — Samsung promised stronger integration between its own smart home platform and Google's Nest ecosystem. But the company conveniently forgot to give an ETA for when the update would actually roll out.
As it turns out, the feature has already been live since the start of the week, with the folks at XDA Developers uncovering a Reddit thread discussing the integration between the SmartThings app and Nest devices on Tuesday. That's just in line with the promise Samsung made back in December.
It's still far from perfect, however. At the moment, you can only control Nest-branded cameras, thermostats, and doorbells via the SmartThings app, with Nest Secure and Nest Protect devices left out in the cold. Even worse, Google's lineup of smart speakers is currently also not supported.
Still, anything to help improve the increasingly fragmented smart home experience is a plus. Hopefully, Samsung and Google will roll out support for the remaining devices in the coming days as the two work on bringing their products closer together. Samsung's new TVs already support Google Duo and its appliances have also started adding support for Google Assistant voice commands.
Samsung is stepping it up again.
The Galaxy S21 is Samsung's latest 5G smartphone. With the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, a large AMOLED 120Hz display, triple-camera system, there's almost nothing you can't do with this smartphone. And it now also plays well with your Nest smart devices.
