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How to use Google Assistant
Smartphones can be frustrating—now you can bark your orders at them instead of stabbing at them with your digits
Google Assistant is the default on Android devices. That's why many people use it. You'll find the helpful assistant all over. It works on phones, Chromebooks, smart speakers, and your TV. It's a versatile assistant with a solid range of features, including answering questions about the weather, setting reminders and alarms for work, and helping you look for a new phone.
Cortana is officially dead on Android
Your reminders, lists, and tasks are still available in the Microsoft To Do app
Back in August, we reported Microsoft was getting ready to kill its digital assistant on Android within the year. Microsoft preferred to embed Cortana into its Office applications instead of having it compete with Alexa and Assistant. As a consequence, the app no longer works on mobile devices and can't be used to access previously created content.
Fire TV voice controls now support Echo Show visual skills and refined search
Still lacks the ability to critique your karaoke performance
Whether you're able to dig up that voice remote or end up pairing an always-listening Alexa speaker, Amazon is introducing a few new voice commands for you to try on your Fire TV — including a whole new suite that will take advantage of that big canvas in an Echo Show-esque way.
Amazon's Echo Flex wall-mountable smart speaker is down to just $17 ($8 off)
It's the best way to fit another speaker into tight spaces
If you think smart speakers aren't discreet enough, mounting them directly on the wall is a good solution. Some accessories let you do that, but they're not necessarily ideal. Thankfully, Amazon has the solution with its Eco Flex wall-mountable smart speaker, which it announced back in September. The product normally sells for $25, but it's now down to just $17.50
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- According to Engadget, the shutdown is limited to these countries: Australia, Canada, China, India, Mexico, Germany, Spain, and the UK. It's not clear why users in the US and most countries will still have access to the digital assistant on their devices while those in the eight above won't.
Cortana made her way onto Android devices back in 2015 but hasn't managed to gain the same popularity as its competitors. This isn't entirely surprising, considering Microsoft's digital helper hasn't been available on smart speakers and displays, leaving people to use alternative solutions. The company seems to acknowledge Cortana can't keep up with its rivals, at least on mobile devices, as it just announced the Android and iOS apps will be retired at the end of January.
IFA 2018 may be over, but there are still some interesting tidbits of news worth mentioning. One of the stands we visited briefly in Berlin last week was that of German Autolabs to see an interesting new product. It may resemble a Nest Thermostat, but Chris is actually a digital assistant for your car.
Google is offering discounts on particular combinations of its Google Home and Chromecast hardware, but the deals are just kind of okay, and frankly a bit of a letdown with all the big price slashes from the holidays still fresh in our memories.
Facebook is getting in on the digital assistant game currently occupied by the likes of Google Now, Apple's Siri, and Microsoft's Cortana. But the social network is taking a different approach with M, the name of its virtual pal. This little helper waits around inside Messenger to answer your questions, and in those instances when its algorithms can't come up with a solution, there are real people working behind the scenes who can.
Search engines are been there, done that these days. To really compete, you need your own voice assistant that can do the searching for us, then regurgitate this information using a friendly voice. Business Insider reports that, in a conference call to report Yahoo's first quarter earnings on Tuesday, CEO Marissa Mayer mentioned her company's plans to take on personal assistants such as Google Now, Apple's Siri, and Microsoft's Cortana. The site claims that the project is currently code-named Index.