Google Home Gets Major Overhaul with MCP, Battery-Life Boost
Google's Google Home platform has been updated with over a dozen improvements and new features. The changes aim to enhance user experience, improve battery life, and fix various bugs. The most significant update is the introduction of the Model Context Protocol (MCP) in early access, which enables AI agents to interact with devices and event history within the Google Home ecosystem.
The MCP allows users to ask their AI agents specific questions, such as what happened when they arrived home from school or how many loads of laundry were done. This feature also enables the creation of custom dashboards using AI agents.
In addition to MCP, the update includes various improvements to the Google Home app and Gemini for Home experience. The app now has battery-efficient widgets that pause background updates and polling when the screen is off or locked, reducing power consumption on both devices and connected cameras. Other changes include smoother multi-account switching, more reliable device tile statuses, and improved smoke alarm notifications.