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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.
Google gave smart display owners a little Thanksgiving surprise when it shared that you'd get a cute animation and noise by setting a "turkey timer," but that's not the only fun Easter egg the company has added. Depending on what label you give your timer, Google smart displays will show you a fitting animation and noise, and we've collected a few of our favorite ones.
Google is going all-in on turkey fun this Thanksgiving
New Duo filters and a turkey timer on the Assistant on top of a Translate easter egg
Following its English to turkey translations in Search, Google has introduced some more fun Thanksgiving Easter eggs. On smart speakers and displays, the company has added a small audible and visual surprise when you tell the Assistant to set a turkey timer, and there is a new turkey filter in Duo that you can use for some laughs with your family while socially distancing.
Not all camera apps are the same, and Adobe set out to prove that with the Photoshop Camera. Making heavy use of AI, Adobe aims to stylize photos based on what it can detect in the scene. The latest update to v1.1 builds on this goal, but also introduces some of the features found in more traditional apps, like switching between cameras and setting a timer for shots.
Ringing alarms and timers on a Google Nest speaker can now be stopped from another room
Ding! Time for an overdue feature addition
Stop me if you think you've heard this one before. You set up a cooking timer on your Nest speaker or display in the kitchen, then go chill in the living room or the bedroom. When the timer rings, it just doesn't stop until you move your ass over to the kitchen and talk to that particular speaker, because yelling "stop" to the other Assistant units littered around your house doesn't do anything. We've complained about this for years, but the problem should finally be far behind us as Google is rolling out timer and alarm control across the entire house.
Fans of Android developer Sam Ruston's applications, such as myself, will be excited to hear that he has just released one more. The app, called Hurry, is a countdown timer that uses notifications and widgets to help you keep track of upcoming events. It is a simple concept but executed with the developer's usual insane attention to detail, especially in relation to material design and animations.
Read update
- Looks like there was some small trouble with the update and Google's billing APIs. All resolved now, but Franco has a post on the subject over on his G+ that's worth a look.
Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous 2 weeks or so.
Self-destructing secret messages are super hip nowadays. Snapchat made it trendy and now every messaging app and social network is trying to follow suit: Allo has private conversations, Instagram creates ephemeral stories, and so on. Viber is now jumping on the hype train and allowing you to set a time limit on your shared media.
Sometimes developers strike (figurative) gold. They send an app submission just when you're thinking that you need to find an app that does the exact same thing, and it's Presidents Day so your plate is otherwise empty and you can try it out. Such is the case with Chrono List. But let's back up.
Back in April, we posted a rumor that Google Now was on track to properly handle timer queries (like "set a timer for five minutes") using the clock app's built in timer functionality, rather than simply setting an alarm.
The latest version of Google Search rolled out yesterday with a couple of pretty great new features. We already know that 3.4 offers a new parking reminder, mall directories, and the start of voice commands for system settings. But there are still a few secrets worth exploring, so let's get to it!
It's hard not to be excited about the future of Google Now. It's already an incredibly powerful tool, on its way to being a do-anything personal assistant, and we've heard tell of even more functionality from bill pay reminders to inferred events entries to contact-based reminders.
Pandora's Android client gets a small update today. The first new feature is something that everyone can use: a sleep timer. In the main station view, tap the Menu icon to find the new "Sleep timer" entry. Tap it, then choose between 15, 30, or 60 minutes. After the set time Pandora will cut off, letting you drift into the arms of Morpheus without killing your battery.
[New App] Timely Is A Gorgeous Alarm Clock And Timer With Cloud Syncing, A Customizable UI, And More
Alarm clock apps are not usually described as lovely, but this one is. Scratch that – Timely is devastatingly beautiful. The numbers morph gracefully from one to the next, there are a ton of themes, and the subtle movement in the background looks great. It's not just a pretty face, though. Timely has some really useful features.
Part of the fun of custom ROMs is seeing how devoted developers improve upon the stock Android experience. Yesterday, we saw a fantastic example in the graphing calculator that's been released to the Play Store and will soon be integrated into CM10. Now, the team is bringing a new improvement to the stock clock app: stopwatch and timer features.
KF Software House recently introduced a solution for the more time-constrained Android users among us, releasing App Timer Mini to the Android Market. App Timer Mini (ATM) does exactly what you may expect after reading its name. The app allows users to observe and track how long they spend using certain apps by placing a handy timer in the corner of your screen.