Remember that dark mode for Google's Nest Hub Max that leaked out earlier this month? Well now it's starting to roll out to everyone.
Google today announced a brand new software experience for Google Assistant smart displays. The update includes a dark theme that'll change the color scheme of the UI and reduce light emission to make using your smart display at night easier on your eyes. You can choose to keep the dark or light theme on all the time or choose the "Automatic" setting that'll adjust the theme based on the ambient light or the sunrise and sunset.
Another major feature of this update is the new visual experience. The tabbed UI includes a page that'll evolve throughout the day, showing things like a "Your morning" page with the day's news and weather plus your first meeting, as well as pages that are tailored to your afternoon or evening.
Speaking of mornings, Google is also adding a new Sunrise Alarm to smart displays soon. Meant to help you wake up more naturally, the display will start to increase its brightness 30 minutes before your alarm goes off to mimic the sunrise. You can choose to set different alarms for the days of the week, and you can more easily stop the alarm by just saying "Stop" without any "Hey Google" phrase before it.
A new "Media" page will suggest videos to watch, podcasts to listen to, and more. This can include content from streaming services like Disney+, Netflix, YouTube, TV, and Spotify.
There's a dedicated "Home control" page for quick access to smart home devices, too, as well as a "Communicate" that'll give you access to services like Meet and Duo video calls as well as Zoom starting later this year. A "Discover" page will give you tips on what you can do with your smart display.
Another big feature of this update is the ability to set up multiple accounts and see all your upcoming calendar events and meetings without having to switch between accounts. This means you can also say "Hey Google, join my next meeting" and it'll do so no matter what event you've got coming up.
Google is also adding a feature to the Nest Hub Max that'll make the smart display auto-frame to keep the camera centered on you during Meet meetings. New menu options will let you cancel and reschedule Meet meetings from your smart display, too, and you can send a message to other meeting participants if you're running late. Finally, Google sys that starting later this year you'll be able to customize how Meet looks on your smart display, like with four-person grids and pinch and zoom.