Yesterday a couple of leaks revealed that Google is planning to add smart home controls to the Android 11 power menu. At the time, it was thought that the feature would be part of the first Android 11 beta release, but it turns out that you can try it right now.
Several folks have been able to get the Android 11 smart home controls using the Google Home app. As noted by XDA's Mishaal Rahman, you can sideload a new version of Google Home while you're running the Android 11 Developer Preview that's currently available.
The Google Home app can be sideloaded on your phone using APK Mirror.
The controls should work just like you'd expect. When you long-press your phone's power button, you'll be able to get controls for smart home devices like light bulbs and locks. With it, you can quickly and easily access your smart home controls no matter what you're doing on your phone.
This feature hasn't officially been announced by Google and so it's kind of strange to see it suddenly enabled by a new version of the Google Home app, but this does make a nice surprise for folks who are running an Android 11 Developer Preview on their Pixel phone.
If you decide to sideload the Google Home app to get these smart home controls, let us know how the feature works for you!