Google Assistant

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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Google Assistant picked up a new form factor earlier this year with the tiny and adorable Lenovo Smart Clock, and now that product is getting a welcome update. Starting this week, the Lenovo Smart Clock will be able to display your photos and keep a conversation going without constant “Hey Google” commands.

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The Chromecast Audio was a pretty brilliant device. With a simple connection to the speakers you already owned, the small device could stream audio from your favorite services easily. Then, it was brutally murdered. Now, it seems like the “Nest Mini” Assistant speaker could end up being the Chromecast Audio replacement I’ve been waiting for.

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Yesterday Amazon and Google finally put an end to their bitter, consumer-hostile feud and started to support each other’s platforms. Now, it’s been confirmed that on Google’s hardware, Amazon Prime Video is going all-out with full support for Google Home commands on Chromecast.

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Give or take our own minor frustrations, the Google Assistant is generally accepted as the best voice assistant on the market today. While public perception plays a critical role, it’s also important to back that feeling up with numbers. For the third year in a row, the Google Assistant has been tested and proven to be able to answer more queries correctly versus both Siri and Alexa.

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Last week, reminders in Google Assistant were redesigned on Android, while the functionality was entirely removed for G Suite accounts. Google today announced that Assistant reminders can now be assigned to members of your family or household.

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In April, Google announced that Assistant will integrate with G Suite. This work and productivity push started with Google Calendar. Over the past several hours, Assistant users logged in with G Suite accounts are finding that they cannot set reminders. For the time being, this is an intended deprecation that Google has confirmed to us.

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Voice reminders on Android have long been part of the Google app. With the advent of Assistant, Google is integrating more and more features directly. As part of this, Google has also given reminders a slight Material Theme revamp.

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The best feature of Google Assistant headphones is interacting with incoming messages and notifications. On Android phones, you’ve long been able to get those voice features with the default SMS client. Google is now expanding Assistant’s ability to read messages to all third-party messaging apps.

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