Google Pixel phones are apparently letting you control a Nest Hub timer
The Pixel's At a Glance widget is picking up a cross-device timer feature.
What you need to know
- Google is tipped to be rolling out a new handy feature to the Pixel phone's At a Glance widget.
- The feature apparently allows users to view and control the timers from a Nest Hub or Google Assistant speaker using the widget.
- It looks like this capability is currently limited to a small set of users, though a wider rollout should not be far off.
Google seems to be expanding the list of capabilities for the Pixel's "At a Glance" widget with yet another feature that should make it easier to control the timer you've set on your Nest Hub or any Nest speaker.
According to 9to5Google, the Pixel phone's At a Glance widget will display the status of your Nest Hub timer right on the home screen of your Pixel phone. When your timer goes off, you'll apparently be able to see the name of the speaker on which you've set it and a few options, including stopping the timer or extending it by one minute.
This is one of the widget's most useful features, especially if you frequently cook in the kitchen and use many of the best Google Assistant speakers as timers. However, this feature appears to be limited to timers, implying that alarms or stopwatches will not sync with your Pixel device. It first appeared in the beta version of the Google app last July.
Unfortunately, the feature appears to be limited to a few users at the moment, as none of 9to5's Pixel models have it. This suggests that it is being rolled out in phases.
For those who have it, a new option with the label "Cross Device Timer" appears in the At a Glance settings menu. It appeared on a Pixel 7 Pro tested by 9to5's source, and when it's enabled, the timer status showed up on the phone a few seconds after it was set on a Nest Hub.
It's worth noting that the widget already syncs with the Google Clock app to display timers on your home screen. The latest change brings that functionality to a new level by syncing the timer set on other devices, such as your Nest speaker.
Prior to this feature, the At a Glance widget picked up several handy capabilities, such as showing food and package delivery alerts as well as safety features for U.S.-based users.
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This smart display serves a variety of functions, including a central location to connect and control all of your smart home devices via Google Assistant, a bright screen to view a slideshow of all your Google Photos, a Nest Cam for home surveillance, and much more.
Jay Bonggolto always keeps a nose for news. He has been writing about consumer tech and apps for as long as he can remember, and he has used a variety of Android phones since falling in love with Jelly Bean. Send him a direct message via Twitter or LinkedIn.