Google Assistant

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.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Earlier this week, Sundar Pichai said Google was standing with the Black community, and would “develop initiatives and product ideas that support long-term solutions.” The latest expression of that support lets you ask Assistant, “do black lives matter.”

Expand
Expanding
Close

Google’s Android TV platform is growing, but sometime this year it’s set to get another major redesign. Today, a leak detailed Google’s new hardware as well as sharing our first look at the new Android TV UI which, apparently, includes YouTube TV integration on the homescreen.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Google Assistant lets you build macros that invoke multiple actions with a single command. Over the past day, a bug when creating new Assistant Routines prevents you from easily adding Home control actions. Fortunately, the underlying capability remains functional and a workaround exists.

Expand
Expanding
Close

A handy trick of Google Assistant is its ability to cast content from various video services to any nearby Chromecast device. For a while, HBO supported Google Assistant integration, but with the debut of HBO Max, that casting option has not only disappeared, but there’s no replacement yet.

Expand
Expanding
Close

In Google’s ambient computing future, voice commands are as capable as tapping away on a touchscreen. Google Assistant is now taking another step toward that with the ability to use Voice Match to authorize/confirm payments.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Since February, we’ve been tracking a redesign of Google Assistant settings on Android that greatly simplifies how to manage the sprawling, cross-device service. It’s now in testing for some users on the latest Google app beta.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day and Google is marking the occasion with several mobile features. One-tap Assistant Action Blocks are launching today on Android, along with new features for Live Transcribe and Sound Amplifier.

Expand
Expanding
Close

There’s a Google Assistant speaker at this point in every shape and size, and to suit every need or price. Back at CES, Belkin showed me its new Soundform Elite Assistant speaker, the very first one to include wireless charging built-in. Now, I’ve spent the past couple of months using it, and as great as it is, I have a tough time figuring out who it’s for. Let’s talk.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Google Assistant is a powerful tool that makes the company’s Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max smart displays so great. Now, though, Google is testing out new smart displays designed to be “easy” for customers who aren’t as tech-savvy.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Routines in Assistant let you invoke multiple actions using a single command. These macros can already be automatically scheduled, while Google at CES 2020 previewed an upcoming “Scheduled Actions” capability. Google Assistant now looks to be readying a “Bell Schedule” feature.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Google’s long-term vision for Assistant in Stadia is as a guide that can suggest YouTube walkthroughs when you’re stuck. Until then, you can use it to open games on your Chromecast-connected televisions. Google Assistant also works to launch games directly on Android phones and Chromebooks.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Last week, Google announced that the highly-awaited ability to control “Hey Google” sensitivity was beginning to roll out. As of today, the new setting is more widely available for first and some third-party Assistant speakers and Smart Displays.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Google Assistant smart speakers are a handy way to stream music and for people who like to listen to music before they go to sleep, the voice-based commands can be excellent. Now, though, the handy sleep timer function of Google Assistant that turns off music after a set period of time is broken for some users.

Expand
Expanding
Close

One of the coolest, if underused, features of the Google Wifi and Nest Wifi routers is that you can control parts of your network through the Google Assistant instead of fiddling with a configuration page. Now it seems the capability for Google Assistant support is opening up for developers to put into more routers.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Last September, Google briefly described an upcoming Assistant feature that would help reduce unintentional hotword activations. Introduced as a privacy measure, you can tune how sensitive Smart Displays and speakers will be to “Hey Google,” with the feature now rolling out.

Expand
Expanding
Close