Google Assistant

A decent speaker and smart display combination might not have been top of many shopping lists before, but the Link View could be the showstopping addition to your automated home that you didn’t realize you were without. As I’ll explain in this review, it fuses quality sound with the power of Google Assistant and a second screen to make the best example of the new platform so far…

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User feedback is an important part of improving any service, with all Google apps on Android featuring a quick way to do so. However, getting feedback on a product with a voice interface is slightly harder. Google Home and Assistant does so by asking users how satisfied they were using a one to five scale.

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Today we’ve got the announcement of Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon Wear 3100 processor, related smartwatches, hands-on with new Wear OS, analysis of ‘Atlas’, a possible ‘Nocturne’ leak, and more.

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Digital Wellbeing is a company-wide initiative that Google announced at I/O 2018. So far, it has launched in YouTube and Calendar, with a launch on Android set for this fall. Google is now preparing to bring Digital Wellbeing to Google Assistant and Home smart devices.

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Last month, version 8.14 of the Google app revealed a “Pixel Stand” accessory that will likely be sold alongside the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. Leveraging the Google Assistant, it essentially turns the phone into a miniature Smart Display of sorts. Today, that interface has likely been revealed.

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Google announced bilingual support for Assistant back in February, and at IFA 2018 it’s beginning to roll out the functionality in six languages. Users can speak to Assistant in two default languages with phones and smart speakers able to understand and reply back in either.

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Earlier this year, Google Home began visualizing responses to certain queries when connected to a television via Chromecast. Google Assistant is now expanding the number of visual responses that will be overlaid on a big screen, while making voice Casting more seamless.

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Back in March, Google launched Routines to let users string together commands that might frequently be repeated every single day. This feature, along with the ability to make custom ones, are now beginning to roll out to the rest of the world.

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Marshall, traditionally known as purveyors of guitar amps, has apparently decided smart speakers are its next big business. The company announced its first Google Assistant-powered speakers at IFA in Berlin, Germany today, and if nothing else they look physically attractive.

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After all the details spilled yesterday, Sony today officially unveiled its new WH-1000XM3 noise-canceling headphones on stage at IFA 2018. Now, they’re already up for sale.

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I love using noise-canceling headphones to block out the world around me, and over the past several months, Sony’s WH-1000XM2 has been my go-to option. Now, Sony is revamping those with the WH-1000XM3 — and they pack some big upgrades.

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Version 8.18 of the Google app this weekend revealed that Assistant is readying support for multilingual voice input. An updated beta is rolling out today with a redesign of the Google Assistant settings page. We have also managed to enable a new bottom bar being tested for the Google app.

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