Mishal Rahman / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google has added a new screensaver to Android 15 called Home Control.
- Home Control gives you quick access to your smart home controls as a screensaver.
- This feature isn’t limited to the Google Home app or Pixel devices.
Google released the source code for Android 15 last month, giving us a glimpse of how the latest operating system’s new features work under the hood. The Android 15 update introduces several new features, including Private Spaces, Partial Screen Sharing, App Pairs, and a new screensaver called Home Controls. Home Control is a very useful screensaver that turns your Android device into a smart home dashboard when it’s docked. After taking a closer look at how it works, we discovered that it’s even better than we originally thought.
For those who don’t know, Google introduced the Home Control Screensaver in the third beta of Android 15 released in June. The screensaver is located at Settings > Display & Touch > Screensaver For Pixel devices. For other Android devices, use the[設定]location may be different (if a screen saver is present).
Mishal Rahman / Android Authority
When you select Home Control as your screensaver and dock your device, Android launches the Favorites view in the Google Home app.[お気に入り]Views give you easy access to your favorite smart home devices in the Google Home app. Selecting this view as your screensaver effectively turns your docked Android tablet (or phone, if you prefer) into a smart home dashboard.
The Home Control screensaver is one of the most useful changes in Android 15, and I’m surprised more people aren’t talking about it. I think one of the reasons for that is that Android 15 isn’t available on most Android smartphones yet, so most people haven’t had a chance to try it yet. Additionally, those who know about the Home Control Screensaver may think that it only works on Pixel devices or the Google Home app. However, neither is true.
In fact, Home Control Screensaver will work on any Android device running Android 15, as long as it supports screen savers in the first place. As proof, the smartphone used to demo the feature in the photo above is not a Pixel smartphone, but a Nothing Phone 2a running the Nothing OS 3.0 open beta.
Additionally, the Home Control screensaver doesn’t only work with the Google Home app. It also works with Home Assistant, as shown below.
Interestingly, neither the Google Home app nor Home Assistant offer their own screensavers for this feature. On a less technical note, the home control screensaver is actually provided by the Android SystemUI app, which embeds Google Home or Home Assistant home control activities.
With last year’s Android 14 update, Google introduced an API that allows apps to embed custom activities in the device control interface. Device Control is a feature that lets you access smart home controls from the quick settings tile or lock screen widget. SystemUI in Android 15 picks up the same custom activity and puts it in the screensaver when you enable the home control screensaver.
Smart home apps don’t need to do anything special to support Android 15’s home control screensaver other than providing the custom activities mentioned above. However, you need to be able to access the custom activity and its controls when the device is locked, and that’s it.
We look forward to Android 15 rolling out to Android devices in the coming weeks and months, allowing more users to try out the new Home Control screensaver. If you have already tried it, let us know what you think in the comments section below.
