Assistant is Google’s personal assistant that is capable of answering questions, performing automated tasks, and more.
Google Assistant finally made its way to Android TV in the past few weeks, and as it expands, developers are making updates to add integration. Now, Plex is playing nicely with Assistant.
A month ago, version 7.14 of the Google app included the first references to Google Assistant for tablets. That functionality is likely nearing a launch as the latest beta of the Google app now lists Assistant as available for the category of larger devices.
One of the cooler features announced at this year’s October 4th event was a broadcast feature that turned Google Home into an intercom-like system. Today, that feature is finally rolling out to Assistant devices, including phones and speakers.
Google’s first set of wireless, Assistant built-in headphones has finally hit the market this week with the Pixel Buds. Units are on their way to early buyers and the product is finally available on the Google Store again.
The question on everyone’s minds, though, is if they are worth the $159 price point. I’ll be answering that in my final review later this week, but for now, let’s go over my first 24 hours with the Buds.
Following this morning’s rollout of the rounded redesign to the Feed and Search, Google Assistant is now gaining that new interface. Widely rolling out this evening, it features a brighter background and rounded interface elements.
Google has been trying to get Assistant in just about every part of your digital life, and its latest expansion has been to headphones. Following the Bose Qc35 II’s intro to Assistant Built-in headphones, Google debuted the Pixel Buds at its October 4th event. Now we’ve got a pair on hand, so let’s see what’s in the box and how to set them up.
Google likes to highlight what it calls “Experiments” from third-party developers that leverage Chrome, Android, AI, or virtual reality. The site is today adding a new category called “Voice Experiments” that showcases conversations applied to games and storytelling on platforms like Google Home.
Google Assistant finally made its debut on Android TV a few weeks back on the Nvidia Shield TV, but its expansion hasn’t continued much in the time since. Today, however, Sony has finally announced that Google Assistant is starting to roll out to its various Android TVs.
Alongside yesterday’s rollout of music recognition, Google Assistant is also adding a feature long found in Allo to the main Android and iOS version. Subscriptions provide useful recurring alerts and were one of Google Allo’s most useful Assistant features.
In most instances, the Google Home and Home Mini are perfect little speakers that you can set in the corner of a room and forget about. But in the bedroom, it can be useful to have the functionality of the Google Assistant in a speaker that also shows the time. With the Insignia Voice Speaker, you get all of that with a price tag lower than the Google Home, even when it’s on sale…
The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL launched with a very neat offline music recognition feature, with Google noting at the October 4th event that general recognition features would be coming soon to Assistant on other devices. Today, that feature is beginning to rollout.
Google Home and Google Assistant are awesome ways to control your smart home, but picking products that work with it was a pain at launch. Thankfully, the list has expanded greatly over time, and now Google has a page dedicated to showing you what works with Home.
Update: Today’s Android rollout also includes Spanish in the U.S. and Mexico, as well as Italian in Italy. It will be coming to the iOS app later this year.
The Google Assistant is launching in Spain today with support for Spanish. Launched in Google Allo back in May, Assistant will soon be available on recent Android devices in the country.
The latest beta version of the Google app is rolling with more about multi-command “Routines” for Google Assistant, as well as further details about Pixel Buds. Additionally, version 7.15 contains more information about the Search Bar Widget and the recently uncovered Quartz device that’s possibly a Google Home with a display.
While most would argue that Google Assistant on iPhone is inferior to Siri in a lot of ways, it’s still a fairly handy tool for those using Google’s services. Recently, Google has given Assistant on iPhone a bit of extra functionality with Apple Music integration.
Over the past few weeks, Google has been improving one of Assistant’s best features, casting. The functionality was not only extended to phones, but it also picked up a couple of new services. In a new blog post talking about those changes, Google has also revealed that The CW is now available on Google Home.
Nest is the go-to option for a security camera that fits with your Google ecosystem, but as Assistant picks up integration with more services and products, the options are expanding. Today, that includes Logitech’s Circle 2 security cameras.
Google Assistant and Home smart speakers continue to add more and more softwares features and integrations from third-parties. The latest is from Canary — the maker of indoor and outdoor security cameras.
Google’s October 4th event saw a number of major smart speaker hardware announcements, including the Home Mini and the Home Max. On the Google Assistant front, there were a number of new features including those for families and kids. This latter functionality will begin rolling out today.
Google Lens has a ton of potential, and the bits Google showed off with it at I/O this May and GDD in September are incredible. However, basically none of that is live right now, and functionality is incredibly limited within the Photos app. Over time it’s going to improve, though, and a couple of Googlers have hit Twitter to give us more information.
While Google is eventually going to be releasing a touchscreen version of the Google Home, it’s looking like that device will no longer be the first. A new product, Lynky, has just hit the web promising to be the first device with Google Assistant built-in and a touchscreen, and it does quite a bit more as well…
Google Assistant is a powerful tool, but its usefulness depends on the hardware you use it on. You can take Assistant everywhere with your phone or watch, but nothing beats how convenient a Google Home is. Now that Assistant is extending to more form factors, we’re really going to see how well it can integrate into our lives, and the TicHome Mini by Mobvoi is one of the most flexible pieces of Assistant hardware to date.
Two weeks ago, we revealed that the Google app was working on a bottom bar redesign. The latest version 7.14 shows Google refining that interface, while revamping the “Explore” page for Assistant apps, adding “Hey Google” on phones, and other tweaks.
Before the announcement of the Google Home Mini, we got our eyes on the TicHome Mini. This small speaker has Google Assistant built-in and runs on a battery, allowing it to be carried and used around your house. After an extremely long wait, Mobvoi is finally opening up pre-orders starting today. What’s better is that if you pre-order the TicHome Mini right now, you’ll save a few dollars…