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Google Assistant Updates feed adds ‘Resume your podcast’ card

Launched last year, the Google Assistant Updates feed is a spiritual successor to Google Now dedicated to showing calendar events, where you last parked, and more. This “visual snapshot” of your day has just gained a “Resume your podcast” Assistant card.

Integrating with Google Podcasts, the Updates feed accessible by swiping up on the Assistant panel or via the Google app will now occasionally surface your last played episode. This card — named “Resume your podcasts” — appears at the very top and features the colorful Podcasts icon.

It includes the episode title, when it was released, and cover art. Also noted is how many minutes you have left remaining. A tap initiates an Assistant command that very quickly opens the Google Podcasts app and starts playing immediately.

This feature is very convenient and appears when contextually relevant. Assistant might ask whether the card is useful after the first time you see it. Since Google Podcasts playback status is synced to the cloud, the reminder will appear in Assistant across multiple devices.

“Resume your podcast” is likely related to a similar media continuity feature in the upcoming Google Assistant Driving Mode. That capability also works with music that might have been playing on your Nest Hub before leaving for work in the morning. It’s a pleasant surprise seeing it show up on other Assistant surfaces.

Resume your podcast in Google Assistant is rolling out now via a server-side update with the latest versions of the Google app.

More about Google Assistant:

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Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com