Google Assistant

Google is working on having “Assistant summarize your busy conversations” and messages when you’re using Android Auto. 

Quick Phrases let you take voice actions on alarms/timers and calls without having to first say “Hey Google” on Pixel phones, as well as Pixel Buds Pro.

Google Assistant has been winding down or consolidating features, especially voice experiences, over the past year, and the latest victim is the whimsical “animal of the day” command.

Google Assistant’s legacy note and list system, including the Shopping List, is being replaced by Google Keep with a migration path that should be fairly straightforward.

As was first announced at the Made by Google event at the beginning of the month, you can now use the Google Assistant to ask if an incoming call from a contact is urgent.

After we spotted it in development earlier this year, Google has rolled out a new tile for Google Assistant that allows for custom shortcuts on Wear OS.

Google is rolling out a number of new accessibility features, including the ability to use Action Blocks as Assistant Routine shortcuts on your Android homescreen.

The big limitation of At a Glance when it quietly launched in June was how it only supported a single watch face, but Google has now updated it with two more complication styles. 

Following the announcement of Assistant with Bard last week, development in the Google app is ramping up. In addition to Pixel 8 users, Google is getting ready to bring Assistant with Bard to Tensor-powered Pixel devices, as well as Samsung’s Galaxy S23 and S24.

Announced at the start of September, the At a Glance widget redesign is now widely rolling out to Pixel phones. 

Google Assistant is debuting a handful of new features on the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, including letting you speak in a more natural manner and article summarization.

In addition to the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, Google announced “Assistant with Bard” today. This is a preview of what’s to come, with the two phones picking up other voice improvements in the short term.

Smart speakers were a craze for a while, but the hype has very much died down in recent years. With the JBL Authentics 300, though, it’s clear that there’s finally a Google Assistant speaker worth your time, and it has great sound, design, and cross-compatibility with Amazon Alexa.

Google Assistant has been one of the primary virtual helpers saturating the landscape. Alongside it has long been Amazon Alexa, and now, the company is beating Google to the punch in revamping its assistant to be more conversational and natural with generative AI.

Android is rolling out its quarterly drop of new features today, with a redesign of the Assistant At a Glance widget being the highlight.

The other day I was manually entering upcoming events that were listed on a website into Google Calendar. Several years ago, I could just activate Google Now on Tap and have most of that information automatically filled. 

Back in June, Google quietly brought At a Glance to the Pixel Watch, but that Wear OS complication has disappeared in recent days. 

At IFA 2023 today, JBL announced Authentics as a series of three speakers with a “timeless retro design” – it’s the first new Google Assistant speaker in recent memory and the first that works simultaneously with Amazon Alexa.

Before the big redesign that we’ve previously enabled, At a Glance is getting an “About this content” section.

Google will soon stop supporting Assistant on Wear OS 2 watches and is encouraging people to upgrade to Wear OS 3 and newer.