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Google's new Tensor chip makes voice typing on the Pixel 6 faster than any other phone
Hopefully, the company can keep these promises
At today's Pixel 6 and 6 Pro announcement, Google detailed that the Tensor chip is enabling quite some incredible camera voodoo. But Tensor is also improving other machine-learning related features, like speech recognition. The chip is supposed to drastically improve the natural language processing for speech-to-text.
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When you're trying to keep on top of your communications, having one number that's tied to all your devices — and even accessible through a web interface — sounds like a dream come true. And for the most part, that's exactly what Google Voice is. But key to that success is it managing to actually do its job, and right now that's not exactly going as planned, as Google reports issues with text messages experiencing delays.
Google Voice is letting you go scorched earth on your SMS thread history
Along with a bunch of other new fan-requested features
It might not be one of Google's most-used services, but Voice fans are as dedicated as they come. Although the app doesn't receive attention as often as many of us might wish for, today's your lucky day. Voice is getting four long-awaited features that should make its calling and texting experience a whole lot smoother and more manageable.
Google Voice won't forward text messages to outside numbers much longer
Call forwarding isn't affected, at least for now
The slow, painful stagnation of Google's call forwarding service continues. An update to the support text for Google Voice says that soon SMS forwarding for Google Voice will no longer operate. That will leave the Google Voice app, on your phone or the web, as the only place that they're visible. Google says that carriers are beginning to block these messages, which is, indeed, something we've observed over the last few weeks.
Twitter has primarily been a text-driven social platform but it hasn't shied away from experimenting with new formats. Earlier this year, the company rolled out Fleets, which allowed users to share fleeting thoughts and moments — a feature not-so-loosely inspired by Snapchat and Instagram. Now, Twitter is testing audio chat rooms in its latest experiment called Spaces.
Google's been rolling out updated logos and icons for many of its services in the last month or so, and Google Voice just started picking up its own awaited change. The new icon is starting to roll out on the desktop site, though it doesn't appear to be live for everyone just yet.
Gboard is rolling back Assistant-powered voice dictation for many
Only briefly available on the Pixel 5, 4a (5G), and 4
The new Google Assistant on the Pixel 4, 4a, and 5 is much faster and more capable than the regular voice control interface on other Android phones. It's tightly integrated with system functions, allowing you to use it to reply to messages and interact with apps without ever touching your screen. We also covered that the advanced Assistant can even power voice typing in Gboard. After a brief period of a wider rollout, it appears that Google is halting the update again and reverting back to the old voice typing experience for many.
Google has resolved its massive server issues affecting Gmail, Drive, Keep, Docs, Meet, Chat, and Voice
Some people couldn't send emails or upload files
Tonight, Google experienced some issues with its servers as multiple services were affected by disruptions, but by now, the company has confirmed that the problems are fixed. People reported that they couldn't send emails via Gmail and upload files to Drive, with thousands of reports on DownDetector.com. Google itself noted on its G Suite Status Dashboard that there were additional problems with Docs, Meet, Chat, Keep, Groups, Slides, Sites, and Voice.
Google opts all users out of voice data collection, explains what it does with the data
Learn about what happens to your data before opting in again
If you've used any of Google's voice services for Assistant, Maps, and Search, you will have gotten a lengthy notice about some major changes as to how and why it collects audio of what you say. These actions are a response to last year's revelations about how humans were contracted to review those clips and how some of them got leaked. The top-line takeaway here is that every user has been opted out of data collection.
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.
Google Voice added to Gmail web app, now lets you transfer calls on all platforms
Assuming you even still make actual phone calls at all anymore
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Google Voice has long been one of Google's most confusing and most useful products, and since becoming part of G Suite in 2018, it has started receiving a bit more love when it comes to updates. It gained a dark theme and support for VoIP calling last year. Now the service is prepping the ability to transfer ongoing calls to other numbers and contacts.
The latest version of Google Voice is available and it's bringing both cosmetic changes and making preparations for new features. For those that use Voice with multiple accounts, the account switcher has been repositioned to a more convenient location. A teardown also shows upcoming support for vCard attachments and Android's Car Mode, which will make it easier for users to make calls with Google Voice while driving.
Voice is quickly becoming a preferred method of search for many mobile users, and Google is responding by pushing voice features to as many of its platforms and services as it can. The latest example is voice search on Google.com for mobile web. The tech giant began rolling out the new feature this past week, but it's only available to Android users so far.
Android Auto is designed with simplicity and safety in mind. As such, it will not show all your notifications while you drive, but only the most important ones like navigation, weather, calls, and messages. However, the latter can only be played vocally and are limited to a few apps such as SMS, WhatsApp, and Hangouts. Until now, Google Voice wasn't supported in Android Auto, which meant incoming texts wouldn't appear on your car's screen. The company is finally fixing this thanks to an update that notifies you when receiving Google Voice messages.
A ton of Google apps have already gotten Material redesigns, and Voice is the latest to join the party. Following yesterday's Gmail redesign, several readers have tipped us off on a new and improved UI in Voice. And yes, we have the APK for you guys to download.
The Pandora app is about to get easier to control, provided you don't mind yelling at your phone. Like everything else under the sun, the app is getting voice controls. Thanks to a partnership with SoundHound, you'll be able to ask Pandora to play different tracks, modify playlists, and more.
After a redesign in August, the future was looking brighter for Google Voice. The service had already stepped into a larger role by joining G Suite for business. Adding enterprise support meant more people relying on it, and for the most part it has gone well. On October 1st, however, Google emailed users regarding an error the company made with text message (SMS/MMS) forwarding.
Google Voice was once thought to be abandoned, but these days we're seeing regular updates and improvements. The latest version bump hit yesterday with small fixes and tweaks to the UI, plus preparations for some future enhancements.