How to add Google’s weather frog to your smart display

I’ve been an avid fan of Google Assistant smart displays over the past few years, dating all the way back to the JBL Link View. Since that time, I’ve been treated to a rotating home screen gallery of images that changes every few minutes and can be pulled from a variety of sources.

Depending on how long you’ve owned a smart display, or your personalized settings, the default pool of images can seems small. Over time it can become rather boring to see the same photos pop up again and again.

Google recently added a new “Experimental” feature in the settings on the Nest Hub. I happened across it as I was recently digging through the Google Home app. Once enabled, I realized it was the best decision I would make all week. I am talking, of course, about enabling the Google Weather Frog and setting him as the default background or home screen.

If you’ve ever searched “weather” before in the Google app on your phone, you’re probably already familiar with this little fella. Enabling this setting on your smart display puts him front and center in your home or office. Once he’s set up, you can watch him come to life and carry out his daily activities.

After enabling the weather frog, I had a blast checking my smart display throughout the day to see what he was up to. Sometimes I’d see him on a picnic, while other times he’d be reading a book or using a telescope to check the stars at night.

As your day progresses, so does his, with your time of day and current weather conditions reflected in the scene. On days when it was cloudy outside for me, it was also cloudy for him. Likewise, when the forecast called for rain, it was also raining in his world.

Working from home can feel a little lonesome sometimes, but with this little guy on my screen, I feel like I have a companion throughout my day. It’s not unlike having a virtual pet or a fish tank.

If you would like to enable the Google Weather Frog on your smart display, it’s a pretty simple process. Follow the steps below and you’ll soon be on your way to observing his daily adventures.