Google Assistant

Google’s Nest Hub is easily one of the best smart displays on the market (and with record low prices as of late), but that makes selling a much more expensive version pretty difficult. Google is trying to do that with the Nest Hub Max by combining three different products into one and, for the most part, it actually succeeds.

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For nearly a year now, we’ve been anticipating the Google Assistant arriving on “all Chromebooks.” As Chrome OS 77 should be coming next week and the Assistant with it, here’s the 15 countries where the Google Assistant will work on Chromebooks.

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Over the past several months, Google has slowly revamped the look of individual pages in Assistant Settings. The latest Material Theme redesign is for Google Assistant Routines, and it’s already rolling out to some users.

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At IFA 2019, Lenovo unveiled two new Android tablets that include the new Assistant Ambient mode as standard, which enabled us to go hands-on with the new mode.

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A new “Call Home” button is now rolling out to the Google Home app on Android that makes it easier for you to place a video call from your mobile directly to any of your Google Nest Hub devices and Smart Displays.

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Every year, the most popular smartphone leaks are all about the hardware. Our own traffic numbers show that people are most interested in looks at the physical form — even if they’re blurry images of phones in anti-leak cases that show essentially nothing. Pixel is more about software advances than most other Android phones, and that’s shaping up to be true about Pixel 4 as much as ever…
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Months after its reveal at Google I/O 2019, the Nest Hub Max is finally here. The larger cousin of the adorable original comes with a bigger screen and better sound, but the real killer feature is Face Match. Here are some quick impressions on the Nest Hub Max ahead of our full review.

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Earlier this year, Lenovo debuted an Android tablet that doubled as an Alexa smart display. Now Lenovo is giving a pair of its Android tablets the same treatment, this time with Google Assistant Ambient Mode and prices starting at $119.

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For the past several weeks, we’ve been tracking an “Ambient Mode” in the Google app. At IFA 2019, Google officially introduced the new Assistant Ambient Mode for Android phones and tablets.

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Lenovo was the first partner Google ever had for Assistant smart displays, and now the company is adding on to its lineup with the Lenovo Smart Display 7 — a direct competitor to Google’s Nest Hub.

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Yesterday, it emerged that Android Auto would be gaining a “Phone Screens” app even after Google in May announced Assistant Driving Mode as a replacement. A new report paints that upcoming app as nothing more than a stopgap in light of the Assistant-backed feature not meeting its summer release.

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For the past year, Google Assistant has had a variety of voices to personalize your experience, and while most Google Assistant related apps have respected this setting, there have been a few holdouts. One of those, Google Maps, is now testing using your chosen Google Assistant voice when navigating, including in Android Auto.

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Dark mode is Android 10’s most popular feature, and on Google’s official site for the platform, we’re getting a first look at some big dark mode makeovers. Here’s a peek at the Gmail for Android dark mode update, and the same new paint job for Google Assistant and Google Maps.

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Back in May, we learned that while Android Auto for screens in the car is here to stay — and even getting a slick redesign — the experience of using Android Auto on your phone screen was being killed in favor of the Google Assistant’s Driving Mode. We’re now seeing our first evidence of this on the Android Auto side in its latest update, version 4.6, which includes multiple suggestions and warnings to use Google Assistant Driving Mode instead.

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Google’s Nest Hub Max is expected to arrive in the next few weeks and along with it, Google Assistant will support facial recognition with Face Match. We’ve spotted the feature a few times in the past, and now it is rolling out to some users.

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For the past year, we’ve been tracking a revamp of Google Assistant’s “Your people” settings for managing family members and other important contacts. The simplified interface is now rolling out on Android.

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As confirmed at Google I/O and hinted at in a recent leak, Google has officially launched the Nest Hub smart display in India. Available starting today, the product will cost a bit more than it does in other regions but offers all of the same great features.

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According to research conducted by Canalys, Chinese search and tech giant Baidu has usurped Google as the number two smart speaker vendor globally.

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