- This futuristic portable battery kept my home running during an outage, with plenty of power to spare
- The best phones for battery life in 2024: Expert tested and reviewed
- One of my favorite open-ear headphones just hit an all-time low price
- One of the loudest Bluetooth speakers I've tested is also one of the most affordable
- I tested Samsung's 98-inch 4K QLED TV, and here's why it might be worth the $13,000
This hidden Android 15 feature turns your screen saver into a smart home control center
My Colts Santa keeps watch over my phone.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
I have Nest cameras, doorbells, and speakers at home. I regularly access those devices from my phone, which is easy to do from the Notification Shade. However, when my phone is docked on its charger, I don’t always want to pick it up to go through the Notification Shade or go into the App Drawer to open the Home app.
Also: I upgraded my Pixel 9 Pro to Android 15. Here are my 5 favorite features so far
Thankfully, in Android 15, the new Home Controls feature offers an easy solution. With this enabled, your Android phone will display controls for your Google Home devices as your screensaver when charging. The new feature allows you to view those devices with a single tap.
If you sleep with your phone charging by your bed, this could be a real gamechanger if someone rings your doorbell or approaches your house in the middle of the night, and you don’t have the brain capacity to go through the usual steps to access the interface for either the Nest camera or Nest doorbell.
Also: How to use Android 15’s App Freeze feature to clear space on your phone
But how do you enable the feature? It’s a bit tucked away but simple to switch on, so let me show you how.
How to enable Home Control for Android 15
What you’ll need: To use the new feature, you’ll need a device running Android 15. Although the feature works great on phones, it’s even better on tablets. You’ll also need some Google devices (such as Nest doorbells, cameras, and speakers). Even some non-Google devices may work, but your mileage may vary.
The first thing to do is pull down your Notification Shade twice and tap the gear icon at the bottom right corner to open the Settings app.
The setting you’re looking for is found within the Display & Touch page, so within Settings, scroll down until you see the Display & Touch entry and give it a tap.
You’ll find the “Display & touch” entry on the main Settings page.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
On this page, locate and tap the Screen Saver option.
As you can see, I already have Home Controls enabled.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
At the top of the resulting page, make sure the On/Off slider is enabled for “Use screen saver.” Once you’ve done that, scroll to the bottom and tap Home Controls to select the new feature as your screen saver. You can then tap Preview to see what it will look like.
You can choose from four different screen savers in Android 15.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
In the preview screen, scroll to the bottom and tap Reorder. Once you’ve done that, you can tap and drag items to change their order of appearance. I like to have my Nest Doorbell on top, so it’s the easiest to access.
If your camera is unavailable, tap the entry and it’ll go live.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
Once you’ve finished, tap Save, and you’re ready to experience Home Controls on your device. Plug in your phone or place it on its dock to see it in action.
Also: Here are the top five Android 15 features I love the most
Congratulations, you now have easier access to all your devices connected to Google Home.
