Following Samsung’s tease yesterday afternoon, Google today provided more details on the new Assistant experience coming to Wear OS, including its new design.
Launching Assistant — including via the “Hey Google” hotword — on Wear OS will bring up a new screen that asks “Hi, how can I help?” with a four-color light bar at the bottom. You will briefly see an Assistant logo at the top, but it quickly fades out.
Besides the new look, Google touts “faster than ever response times on your watch.” This updated UI and speed promise draw more than a few comparisons to the new Google Assistant (NGA) currently exclusive to Pixel phones. That could very well be the underpinning, as we previously reported.
Assistant on wearables is billed as letting you “ask Google to help set a timer while cooking, stay on top of your appointments by asking your calendar what’s next, or playing your favorite music.”
Google today only mentioned this new Assistant for the Galaxy Watch 4 and how it will be “available for download on Google Play.” The previous Assistant on Wear OS is part of the Google app, which is absent on Samsung wearables. A new system looks to have been architected for this next-gen voice experience.
Left: Assistant today | Right: New UI
Other details on the new Assistant design or when it will launch on other Wear OS devices were not provided this morning.
Meanwhile, Samsung’s watch next month will get an improved “setup process so your apps on your Android phone appear as recommended apps on your watch.”
With a simple tap on your phone, you can install all of your favorite apps from Google Play
Lastly, all Wear OS devices will get the ability to stream YouTube Music on Wi-Fi and cellular (LTE) instead of first requiring a download to start playback.
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