Assistant is Google’s personal assistant that is capable of answering questions, performing automated tasks, and more.
Google’s Wear OS is often called neglected, and honestly, it’s an apt description when you hear stories like this. For the past few months, the “Hey Google” hotword on Wear OS has been broken.
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Google Assistant capabilities created by third-parties, including developers integrating smart home devices, are known as “Actions.” The company today announced an updated Google Assistant Actions policy that introduces device quality and safety guidelines.
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In the process of building out my smart home, one of the things I knew I wanted to do was have my garage door open up using Google Assistant. Unfortunately, one of the best options I saw also came with the potential of a subscription fee. Luckily, other options exist, and I’ve been tremendously satisfied over the past several months with a system from Nexx.
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Google has opened the door for more companies to offer a smart home doorbell that can integrate with the Assistant.
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Google has been working to make Assistant compatible with enterprise G Suite accounts since 2019. It started with a beta, and Google Assistant will now be generally available to all Workspace customers on Android over the coming weeks.
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There are a lot of useful voice-controlled apps and games on Google Assistant, including several that are useful for parents with young children. For the past few years, Google has supported read-along books on Google Assistant devices, but now most of them are gone, with Disney stories from Little Golden Books removed.
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A year ago, Google’s Area 120 incubator launched an HTML5 gaming platform to “test whether lightweight, casual games would resonate with people who use the internet via low memory devices on 2G and 3G networks.” Proving popular, these HTML5 games are now being coming to Discover, Assistant, and Chrome for Next Billion Users (NBU).
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Google is optimizing the experience of using voice commands on phones by taking better advantage of the available screen. On Android, Google Assistant voice commands from the lockscreen will feature new glanceable cards.
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Google’s Android Auto platform makes infotainment in your car easy, and it’s about to get a new feature. Soon, Android Auto will have games, but not the ones you’re probably thinking of.
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For the past two years, it seemed that Google was on track to replace “Voice Search” on Android with Assistant. That might not be the case anymore as a more modern UI for Google Voice Search is now being tested.
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A few months after its debut, the new Chromecast with Google TV picked up support for Apple TV last week. An added bonus? Apple TV for Chromecast can be controlled by Google Assistant speakers and smart displays.
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Thanks to an unofficial workaround you can now enjoy the — normally — fantastic Google Assistant on your desktop PC, Mac, or Linux machine.
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A connection outage this morning is preventing Google Assistant on Home, Android, and other devices from controlling Philips Hue light bulbs and fixtures.
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Have you ever wanted to use Google Assistant on your computer? Unless it’s a Chrome OS machine, you’ve probably been out of luck. Now, though, a clever developer has managed to toss together an unofficial Google Assistant client for Windows, macOS, and Linux, but it’s a bit complex.
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After nearly a lengthy period of time being broken, then being officially unsupported by Google, Android Auto is getting back a useful feature. Google Assistant routines are finally working on Android Auto again.
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An apparent “set up” issue with the Google Assistant today prevents users from controlling smart home devices with their voice.
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An “early preview” of Assistant Driving Mode was announced in November, and more people received it at the start of this year. The initial version is more limited than what was demonstrated almost two years ago, and Google is now surveying users about it.
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After we first spotted the functionality in development back in September of last year, Google looks to be preparing a rollout of “access” roles for household members in the Google Home app.
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The Google Assistant might be one of the best AI helpers out there, but along with so much knowledge comes pop culture references, memes, and even the odd surprise in the form of easter eggs.
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In a quiet update to Google Assistant, a new “wellness” section has been added which prepares the ability for Assistant to show your health and fitness data on smart displays and more.
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Back in November, Google announced an “early preview” of Assistant Driving Mode in the US. It has officially been “rolling out” since late last year, but most users have yet to receive it. The company today reiterated that the preview is coming.
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While Google has banked on Smart Displays in recent years, there aren’t quite as many available as we would have hoped. The latest though is the cutesy Xiaomi Mi Smart Clock, which is set to go on sale in Europe for just €50.
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The Google Assistant is helpful, it’s useful, and it certainly doesn’t “do nothing” in the wider sense. However, a brand-new “Do Nothing Mode” has arrived on the Google Assistant and all associated devices in India.
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Assistant is one of Google’s most important products as voice cements itself as a key way to interact with technology. The personal assistant spans across all of the company’s form factors and plays an outsized role in smart homes. As the new year gets under way, let’s recap all the major features that Google Assistant and Google Home picked up in 2020.
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