Assistant is Google’s personal assistant that is capable of answering questions, performing automated tasks, and more.
Google just sent us a picture of the new Nest-branded smart speaker. See above..and much more below.
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Last month we exclusively reported that Google had a sequel incoming to its original Google Home speaker, this time with Nest branding in tow. Today, a regulatory authority in Japan has leaked this new “Nest Speaker,” revealing its brand new design.
In lieu of Google I/O 2020 (Google opted not to hold a virtual event this year), the various arms of the company that would have otherwise had announcements at the event are trying to hold virtual conferences. That continued this week with the “Hey Google” Smart Home Virtual Summit. The big news was Google bringing Home/Away triggers to Assistant Routines with ‘presence detection’, but another minor tidbit surfaced: a new “Works with Hey Google” brand we hadn’t seen yet. Let’s overanalyze this, shall we?
Having a digital assistant on your phone can be handy, but whether it’s a concern of privacy or just something you don’t want to use, you can always turn them off. Here’s how to turn off Google Assistant on Android phones, Chromebooks, and even smart speakers.
At a primarily developer-focused Smart Home Virtual Summit, Google today recapped its recent work in the space and announced more tools. Another focus was on expanding the capability of Google Assistant Routines through “presence detection” and other new features.
Earlier this year, the Google Assistant gained public support for a variety of media devices including TVs and remotes. Today, Google is following that up by openly allowing developers to connect the Google Assistant to speakers, soundbars, streaming boxes, and more.
Google Assistant has long dominated the voice assistant field, despite a huge head start from Apple’s Siri. With the new release of iOS 14, Apple tried to close that gap a bit with a bunch of improvements to Siri, but it’s clear that, even with that, Google Assistant still has quite the lead.
Nearly every Made by Google product released in the last few years includes a way to invoke the Google Assistant, and the Stadia Controller is no different. The Stadia Controller’s Google Assistant button has suddenly become far more useful, as you can now use it while playing your games.
Google next week is hosting a “Hey Google” Smart Home Virtual Summit in lieu of the annual I/O conference. Aimed at the Assistant developer community, there will be a keynote and partner panel.
Video calls are booming in 2020, and dedicated home devices are particularly suited for casual conversations. Smart Displays, including the Nest Hub Max, are now adding support for Google Duo and Google Meet group calling.
One handy trick Google Assistant offers is the ability to use your various Google Home and other speakers as a PA system through your home. Dinner ready? You can send a message to the whole home to let the entire family know. Now, Google is improving on Assistant’s broadcasting feature by enabling broadcasts to a specific room.
After an extensive wait, Google is now rolling out a fix for an issue that prevented users from utilizing the Assistant fully when connected to Android Auto.
Google Duplex’s flashiest capability lets it book appointments on your behalf. However, Google is also leveraging the Duplex conversation technology to update store hours, and now check inventory.
Besides on-device processing, the revamped layout is a key part of the Pixel 4’s new Assistant. A more compact Google Assistant redesign that’s been in testing for all other Android devices now looks to be rolling out to some beta users.
Back in March, Google rather quietly rolled out Assistant Snapshot as a Google Now-esque replacement that brings together weather, calendar events, reminders, and other relevant, proactive information. Google Assistant now looks to be testing a second, visually-similar feed called “Updates for you.”
Google Assistant is one of the best ways to control your various smart home products, Philips Hue included. If you’re still using a Philips Hue v1 bridge, though, Google Assistant is cutting off support in the next few days.
Over the past 24 hours, those within the Google Home ecosystem have reported that their C by GE light bulbs are not turning on. There’s fortunately a quick fix that does not require resetting the fixtures manually.
Since the launch of the original Pixelbook, Google has been pushing for the Assistant to play a larger role in Chrome OS. Their latest push will use an on-device version of the Google Assistant to handle “the most common queries” directly on your Chrome OS device.
Like Android, Google Assistant is also a platform for third-party developers creating apps. Google today is making it easier to build Assistant Actions with new development tools and core platform features, like Continuous Match Mode.
For a few years now, the Google Assistant has been integrated into Android TV, with most newer remotes offering a dedicated Assistant button and some devices offering “Hey Google” support. Now it looks like Android TV is picking up Voice Match integration with the Google Assistant, according to the latest update to the Google Search app for Android TV.
Google Assistant has long offered the ability to help you find your missing smartphone if you misplaced it. However, it’s only been able to track down a couple of devices at once. Now, Google Assistant’s “Find my Device” command makes it easier to find more devices.
In November, Google framed its acquisition of Fitbit as a way to “help more people with wearables.” However, since the deal is still pending regulatory approval, the two companies have yet to integrate or announce any joint plans. That now appears to be changing as Fitbit works on bringing Google Assistant support to its devices.
First-party Nest and Home devices are often the first to pick up new Assistant features. Google is now bringing Voice Match and default speaker support to third-party devices, including those from Bose and Sonos.
With the vast and ever-expanding library that is the Internet of Things, the Google Assistant is always playing a cat-and-mouse game in an effort to support everything. Last night, Google mistakenly updated their Assistant developer docs to include doorbell and styler device types, which will soon be supported widely.
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