A new update will let you change the background on your smart display, which means you can break up with that unsightly white background you’ll no doubt be familiar with. The revamp also changes how you get your weather fix on the smart device.
Google’s new Smart Display UI is headed to all of its smart screen devices. The UI update follows the rebranding of the Google Home line of smart devices to Google Nest. The changes were first shown off on the new Google Nest Hub Max and will now head to the Google Nest Hub too.
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9to5Google reports that the biggest change in the update allows you to choose your own wallpaper for a Google Smart Display.
Previously, the background remained white across almost all of the devices. The only exception was Ambient Mode – the device’s screensaver. The Smart Display will now show your customisable Ambient Mode image as the device’s background.
However, you aren’t completely free from the impending wall of whiteness. The background blurs (intentionally) when you swipe through from screen to screen – eventually taking you to a fully white backdrop again.
The time/date and weather information see some changes too. The information has been condensed, and now lives in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen – having previously taken up almost all of the left side.
This also means some more detailed weather information is sacrificed. A three-day forecast is now replaced with today’s temperature and daily highs and lows.
The new Google Smart Display update should now be available across all Google Nest devices. The revamp is tied to the latest Google Home firmware update (v1.39154941), which has just been released.
Along with the Google Nest line, the firmware update means the changes will come to non-Google Smart Displays like the JBL Link View and Lenovo Smart Display.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
