Google is making more progress—finally—toward adding the original Nest cams to the Google Home app, with the Nest Cam Outdoor now taking the first steps in the migration process.
Public Preview users of the Google Nest app can now start moving the first-generation Nest Cam Outdoor to the Google Home app, Google announced Wednesday.
Not all Public Preview users will be able to add their Nest Cam Outdoor to the Google Home app at once. Google notes that it may take “a couple of weeks” to see the prompt, as “more” Nest Cam Outdoor users are being added “each week.”
This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best home security cameras.
Once you do get the prompt, you’ll be able to control and manage the Nest Cam Outdoor next to your other Nest cameras in the Google Home app, complete with the ability to review videos in Google’s “updated” camera history experience, including quick switching between timeline and event list views.
Until now, users of the Nest Cam Outdoor and other older Nest cams needed to use the legacy Nest app to control those cameras. For those with a mix of first-gen Nest cams and newer Nest cameras, that meant using two separate apps—the Nest app and the Google Home app—to control their Nest devices.
The first-generation Nest Cam Indoor was the first of the older Nest cameras to make the move to the Google Home app back in August.
To add either the Nest Cam Indoor or Nest Cam Outdoor to Google Home, you’ll need to be a member of Google’s Public Preview program for the Google Home app. If you’re not already a Public Preview member, anyone can request an invite.
Here’s how video events captured by the first-gen Nest Cam Outdoor look in the legacy Nest app (left) and the Google Home app (center and right).
If you’re a Public Preview user and you get selected for migrating your Nest Cam Outdoor app to Google Home, you’ll receive a prompt in the Favorites tab with further instructions.
Also, if you have a change of heart, you will still be able to move your Nest Cam Outdoor back to the Nest app, with Google adding that there is “no change to the Nest app today” and that “you can continue to use the app as you do now.”
Google didn’t offer any additional details on when the other original Nest cams will land on Google Home, nor did it give any updates on when the Nest Protect smoke alarm will finally get Google Home support.
Separately, Google announced that Public Preview users of the Google Home app can now create and share “custom clips” from video events captured by their Nest cameras, just by selecting a start time and clip length. If you’re a Nest Aware Plus subscriber with 24/7 video history, you can trim a clip from any part of your video history.
Supported cameras include the second-gen wired indoor Nest Cam, the Nest Cam battery, Nest Cam with Floodlight, and the wired and battery-powered Nest Doorbells. The first-gen Nest Cam Indoor and Outdoor will also work once migrated to the Home app.
Finally, Google said it had added the ability for wired Nest cameras to warn you when a garage door has been inadvertently left open.
The feature, which relies on “advanced AI powered image detection and improved built-in on device intelligence,” will be rolling out to Public Preview users this week, and it will be compatible with the second-gen wired indoor Nest Cam, as well as the battery-powered Nest Cam once it’s been wired for power.
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer, TechHive
Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he has covered everything from smart speakers and soundbars to smart lights and security cameras. Ben's articles have also appeared in PC Magazine, TIME, Wired, CNET, Men's Fitness, Mobile Magazine, and more. Ben holds a master's degree in English literature.