Google released the source code for Android 15 last month, giving us a peek at how the new features in the latest operating system work under-the-hood. The Android 15 update introduces several new features such as Private Space, partial screen sharing, app pairs, and a new screensaver called Home Controls. Home Controls is a very useful screensaver that turns your Android device into a smart home dashboard when it’s docked, and after digging into how it works, I’ve realized it’s even better than I initially thought.

In case you aren’t aware, Google introduced the Home Controls screensaver in the third beta of Android 15 released back in June. The screensaver can be found under Settings > Display & touch > Screen saver on Pixel devices; on other Android devices, the location in Settings for changing the screen saver may differ (if it exists at all).

After choosing Home Controls as the screensaver and then docking your device, Android will launch the Favorites view of the Google Home app. The Favorites view provides quick access to your favorited smart home devices in the Google Home app. By picking this view as your screensaver, you can effectively turn your Android tablet (or your phone, if you prefer) into a smart home dashboard when it’s docked.

The Home Controls screensaver is one of the more useful changes in Android 15, and I’m surprised more people aren’t talking about it. I think part of the reason is that Android 15 isn’t available yet for most Android phones, so most people haven’t had the chance to try it yet. In addition, those who do know about the Home Controls screensaver might assume it only works on Pixel devices or with the Google Home app. Neither is true, though.

In fact, the Home Controls screensaver will work on all Android devices running Android 15 as long as they support screen savers in the first place. As evidence, the phone I used to demonstrate the feature in the photos shown above is the Nothing Phone 2a running the Nothing OS 3.0 Open Beta, not a Pixel phone.

Furthermore, the Home Controls screensaver doesn’t only work with the Google Home app. It works with Home Assistant, too, as demonstrated below:

Interestingly, neither the Google Home app nor Home Assistant provide their own screensavers for this feature. Without getting too technical, the Home Controls screensaver is actually provided by the Android SystemUI app, which in turn embeds the Home Control activity of either Google Home or Home Assistant.

In last year’s Android 14 update, Google introduced an API that lets apps embed a custom activity in the Device Controls interface. Device Controls is the feature that lets you access your smart home controls from a Quick Settings tile or lock screen widget. SystemUI in Android 15 takes that same custom activity and puts it in a screensaver when you enable the Home Controls screensaver.

Smart home apps need not do anything special to support Android 15’s Home Controls screensaver apart from providing the aforementioned custom activity. They do, however, need to ensure that the custom activity and its controls are accessible when the device is locked, but that’s about it.

I’m excited for Android 15 to roll out to Android devices in the coming weeks and months so more users can play around with the new Home Controls screensaver. If you’ve tried it out already, let us know what you think of it in the comments below!