Google Home app may finally get offline support

I’ve never come to terms with the Google Home ecosystem’s absolute reliance on an internet connection. Whenever there’s an outage, I cannot interact with my Home ecosystem even with all devices powered on. Without Wi-Fi, those smart speakers and displays become expensive paperweights. But things may not stay this way forever, at least according to a hint dropped in a recent Reddit AMA. According to a Google Home engineering manager, offline support might eventually come to the Google Home app.

The potential functionality would be a game-changer, allowing users to control their smart devices even when their internet connection cuts out. This could alleviate frustrations during outages.

Daniel, the engineering manager at Google Home and Nest, explained the planned approach. Apparently, Google aims to first route more interactions locally by leveraging the Matter smart home standard to improve reliability and reduce latency. Once a significant amount of smart home traffic runs locally, Google believes there may be opportunities to bring offline support to the Home app.

While this news is exciting, seasoned Google Home users might be wise to temper their enthusiasm. Google has a checkered history with the Home ecosystem, promising features that either take years to materialize or are quietly abandoned altogether. Remember the promised compatibility between Nest Audio and Chromecast with Google TV some four years ago? How about the prolonged migration of Nest services to the Home app?

Whether offline support truly comes to fruition, and if so, when, remains to be seen. Still, the company’s public acknowledgment of the issue raises hope that this feature may finally become a reality.