latest
An activation phrase, like "OK Google," "Hey Siri," or "shut the hell up Bixby," has been a core element of the digital assistant ever since Google started this stuff up years ago. But soon it might not be necessary, at least for specific interactions where it makes sense. A recent app teardown indicates that Google is working on dynamically listening for commands based on recent events, doing away with the need for the precursor command.
Siri voice commands come to third-party smart home gadgets later this year
The WWDC showed off an Ecobee thermostat responding to Siri commands
Apple's WWDC 2021 keynote is nearly two hours long, because Apple has a lot in common with Zack Snyder. Nestled in the presentation on HomeKit was an interesting nugget of information: Siri will be available on third-party devices later this year. That's a little less exciting than it sounds. It's not as if you'll be able to install a Siri app on Windows or Android: Apple's only extending this functionality to devices that are compatible with its HomeKit smart home technology. During the keynote, Apple demonstrated a Siri voice command working with an Ecobee thermostat (which indeed, includes its own microphone for voice commands).Third-party smart home appliance manufacturers will be able to integrate Siri commands into their HomeKit functionality later this year, assuming they have the hardware to support it. But you may need a HomePod or HomePod Mini in order to use it: the presenter said that commands go to your HomePod over your home's network without going to a third-party server. Based on the demo, it looks like it should be possible to add Siri voice command functionality via a software update, so those who want it won't necessarily have to buy all-new smart home gadgets.
Google Assistant can now correctly set timers or alarms even after you flub a voice command
The improved recognition system will land first on smart screens and speakers
How often do you use Google Assistant for an alarm or a timer, only to instantly second-guess yourself and mess up the command? Then you have to go back and erase the original one and do it over, all with somewhat awkward voice controls. Google's working on it, using some slick new technology that will make up for your lack of eloquence.
'Hey Google' command appears to be working again on some Wear OS watches
Most users say it still hasn't come back
A little while back the signature "hey Google" Assistant commands stopped working on Wear OS watches. Well, that's not completely true: a few months ago it stopped working, and it took that long for enough people to notice that Google said it would do something about it. Based on a few user tests, that appears to be resolved, at least for some devices.
Google Assistant’s Find My Device command finally helps you locate more than 2 phones
File under First World Blogger Problems
Google's Find My Device service is invaluable when you lose your phone while you're out and about, but it's also great if your handset disappears in the vast void that is your couch, bed, or hallway. Just hit up Google Assistant on one of your smart home speakers or displays and ask it to "Find my device." However, for people who juggle more than two phones at once (like us here at Android Police), this can quickly turn into a frustrating experience, as Google would only help you find the two most recently used phones. That has changed — the Assistant will now give you a selection of up to nine phones at a time.
'OK Google, open Assistant settings' could be the simplest way to get to Assistant settings
There's an even faster option, though
Read update
The Google Assistant is incredibly powerful once you start diving deeper into all of the custom voice commands and routines you can build for it. Unfortunately, these options live in the Assistant settings, which is rather hidden and hard to access — you need to invoke the Assistant, swipe up, wait for your profile picture to show up in the top right corner, and tap it to head there. Google seems to recognize this and has highlighted a neat voice command that gets you there instantly: "OK Google, open Assistant settings."
Earlier this week, YouTube introduced several new features to its app with the hopes of making it more accessible and easier to use. The most noteworthy addition was that viewers can now use voice search when casting the YouTube app to their smart TV.
Read update
- Google has officially announced Voice Access, clarifying that the app is now available globally but only supports English commands, with more languages coming in the future.
Though the smartphone market is relatively mature (some might even say stagnant), there's been a notable lack of progress on accessibility. The simple fact is that not everyone can easily manipulate a smartphone or tablet's touchscreen, and there aren't a lot of cheap or free ways to make it easier. That's no doubt why, even in a low-profile beta, Google's voice command navigation app Voice Access climbed to more than a million downloads on the Play Store over the past two years. The app was also exceedingly popular on APK Mirror, where the original release was downloaded 1.5 million times. Now, the blockbuster accessibility tool has finally left beta with its latest update to 3.0, which also adds improvements to its integration with Google Assistant.
The Google Home doesn't have a display of its own, but it's becoming very good at controlling other screens around your house. You can start playback of content from Google Photos, YouTube, and others with a simple voice command, turning the Home into a voice-controlled TV remote. Google has now added the ability to easily watch news videos on your TV using Assistant commands.
Read update
You know how you can say both "OK Google" and "Hey Google" to Google Home and it will respond to the two hotwords without any discrimination? The same isn't true of Assistant on your Android phone: it only answers to "OK Google." Wait, scratch that, it wasn't true as the command is now working on phones too.
It's the little things you guys. Sometimes, you're sitting in the living room and you just want to turn on your TV without reaching for that remote. Sure, you can ask Home to play something on your Chromecast, which will automatically turn the TV on, but then it'll start playing something while maybe you just wanted to see those pretty backdrops. And forget about turning the TV off, that just didn't work.
We don't distribute "finally" in titles gratuitously. In order for a piece of news to earn its "finally," it has to be a popular request and one that's been long in the making and, more often than not, it has to be so logical that its absence baffled us. But today, we have a much-earned "finally" for song search on Assistant.
Assistant's history with screenshots is long and fraught with complications. First, Now on Tap added a screenshot option, then it was removed and re-added when it was renamed to Screen Search, and when the Assistant came, the screenshot option was nowhere to be found but it was added again through Assistant's What's on my screen feature. But it looks like Google has made it even easier to take a screenshot and it no longer requires special know-how.
The "OK Google" voice command first came to fruition on the Nexus 5, but it's since made its way across the Google product portfolio. It's especially useful on Android Auto, where it enables drivers to interact with their head units without getting too distracted. Unfortunately, it's currently broken and requires a workaround.
Hi Google, it's me Rita. I believe we've met before. Somewhere between Gmail, Google Photos, and Chrome, you must know a lot about me. Things I might not want others to discover, so hushhhh. (There are thousands of people reading us, let's not tell them about my love for Winnie The Pooh.) But our relationship doesn't feel equal; I barely have any information about you. Your new guy, this Assistant you've sent here to talk to me, I'd like to get to know him better. He looks a lot like the other guys you've sent before, Now and On Tap, but he seems special. Smarter, more interesting, less coy, like a better analogue interface of what I imagine you to be.
One of the handier voice commands that users can give to Google Now is "remind me to [whatever]," which will automatically start a function that adds a reminder and alarm to the cards. Follow that up with a specific time or day, and it will make the necessary adjustments to your command. Now it's even faster: the dialogue used to create a short countdown in the form of a blue line. But if you try the same command today, it will create a card instantly.
Even as it expands its hardware lineup with a couple of new, lower-cost options, Amazon continues to build in new abilities to Alexa. That's the voice control system that debuted on the Echo, and has since progressed to the Echo Dot (and maybe even a wearable or two in the near future). Alexa has been upgraded to work with an impressive variety of third-party services over the last year or so, and the latest is Google Calendar.
When you make a voice search or any other voice input on Android, there's a complex process that goes on behind the scenes. Your voice is recorded, transmitted to Google's servers, analyzed and converted into a text string, then either passed on to the relevant web service (like Google Search) or sent back to your device. It's usually almost instantaneous if you have a decent Internet connection, but therein lies its one weakness: you do have to have that connection in order for it to work. The rudimentary offline system (in Android since Jelly Bean) relies on a relatively unsophisticated vocabulary and detection system that's slow and less powerful than the connected version.
João Dias, also known as joaomgcd on the Play Store, is one of those developers who are never, ever, content with the current capabilities of modern smartphones. He wants them to be more powerful, respond to more commands, allow more interactions, all from more interfaces. His AutoVoice app has been available for a while, allowing you to harness the OK Google interaction scheme to automate plenty of new actions and issue commands that Google's default algorithms don't yet understand.