Google has re-envisioned Google Home as a platform for all developers, not just those building smart-home devices.

The tech giant has announced the Home APIs and Home runtime. With Home APIs, app developers can access over 600 million devices, Google’s hubs and Matter infrastructure, and an automation engine powered by Google intelligence, all available on both Android and iOS.

Any developer can now build an experience that works with Google Home. The home offers an opportunity for developers to create seamless and deeper relationships with users, but developing for the smart home is harder than it needs to be. Building for the smart home means integrations with many device makers, operating hubs and Matter fabrics, and operating automations engines driven by intelligent signals.

Whether building an app specifically for smart home devices or apps that have nothing to do with the smart home – such as a fitness or delivery app – the Home APIs can help developers create app experiences that offer differentiated experiences on Android and iOS.

The device and structure APIs (developers.home.google.com/apis) provide access to more than 600 million devices with a single integration. This provides control of the devices already connected to Google Home, such as Matter light bulbs or the Nest Learning thermostat, whether at home, or on the go. Developers can build a complex app to manage any aspect of a smart home, or simply integrate with a smart device to solve problems such as turning on the lights automatically before the food delivery driver arrives.

The Home APIs have been designed with privacy and security in mind, leveraging standard best practices. Users are always in control and need to grant access explicitly to their structure and smart home devices before an app can access them. And they can easily revoke access at any time from the Google Home app. To ensure quality experiences, developers who adopt the Home APIs must pass certification before launching their app.

The new commissioning API lets developers set up Matter devices in their apps or the Home app or directly with Fast Pair on Android, without the need to create a new Matter fabric, saving time and resources.

As people add more devices to their home, it becomes challenging to make them all work in unison. Over the past year, Google has added signals and allowed those with advanced skills to script their home using generative AI. With the new automation API, they can create and manage home automations in their apps, using Google Home’s automation engine and intelligent signals.

Automations can be triggered by device signals from the home, such as occupancy events from motion sensors, mode changes from appliances, or media events from a smart TV. For example, Yale is using the automation API to turn on the foyer lights when the front door is unlocked at night. Automations can also use Google’s intelligence signals such as home and away, which fuses together signals from devices across the home to create a more accurate presence detection.

A hub for Google Home is a device that enables remote access and local control of Matter devices across wifi and Thread. The Home APIs use the network of hubs for Google Home to control Matter devices whether the user is in the home or away.

Later this year, Google plans to upgrade its hubs and introduce the Home runtime, so other devices, including Chromecast with Google TV, select panel TVs with Google TV running Android 14 or higher, and eligible LG brand TVs, will also become hubs for Google Home.

Home APIs make controlling lights and switches locally over a hub feel snappy. It is adopting these APIs in the Google Home app, and early tests show device control operating up to three times faster than before. Developers using the Home APIs can see faster and more responsive local control in their apps as well.

Google is working with a range of brands across lighting, security, automotive, energy and entertainment to build seamless smart home experiences that help get more usefulness from the smart home.

Among the first partners using the Home APIs is ADT with its Trusted Neighbor that will change the universal practice of giving a trusted neighbour a key to the home, letting users easily grant secure and temporary access to their homes for neighbours, friends or helpers.

LG will enable millions of TVs to be hubs for Google Home, allowing seamless control of devices from any app built using Home APIs. Users will also be able to use the ThinQ mobile app or the Home Hub on the LG TV to control devices.

Eve Systems will bring its experience to Android for the first time and build automations such as lowering the blinds when the temperature drops at night.

Google Pixel is bridging the digital and physical worlds so bedtime mode can not only dim screens but also automatically dim bedroom lights, lower the shades and lock the front door.

“And this is just the beginning,” said Matt Van Der Staay, engineering director at Google Home. “With the Home APIs, a workout app could keep you cool while you are burning calories by turning on the fan before you begin working out. Or a vacation rental app could make sure that the lights are on and the temperature is just right when a guest arrives. With the Home APIs, now anyone can bridge digital experiences and physical devices.

Developers ca join the waitlist (developers.home.google.com/io/2024#upcoming-preview-programs) for access to the Home APIs or Home runtime. Google says it will expand access on a rolling basis and the first apps built on the Home APIs will come to the Play Store and App Store starting this autumn.