Google Assistant

Ahead of its larger redesign heading out to the general public, the Google Home app is doing some work with routines, adding a new “Household” option for routines as well as expanding device triggers to more users.

After upgrading most of the Nest Hub series, it seems Google’s Fuchsia team is looking to move on to supporting Google Assistant speakers like the Nest Audio and what looks to be a new speaker for 2023.

Using voice commands to control smart home devices is very common, and something that Google Assistant is about to get better at through the use of AI.

The Google Home app is set to see a major redesign in the coming months but, ahead of that, Google is opening up a whole new world of automation. This week, some Google Home app users are noticing support for device triggers on Assistant routines.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Google is using Assistant to help get the word out.

In talking with Google and learning more about the Pixel Tablet, my biggest takeaway is that pulling double duty as an Assistant Smart Display will be its path to success. It all comes down to execution, which of course is harder said than done given that Google basically tried with Assistant Ambient Mode two years ago. Meanwhile, Apple is rumored to be right behind the Pixel Tablet and following the same strategy for the iPad.

Earlier this week, Google told us that the Maps integration in Assistant Driving Mode is going away. The company’s confirmation following a “sunset” notice we discovered in the Google app turned out to be incorrect, and Google now tells us it is shutting down the entire Assistant Driving Mode Dashboard that was announced at I/O 2019.

At Made by Google 2022, a number of Assistant announcements were made across all the new devices and form factors. Pixel phones are seeing updates to Assistant Voice Typing, At a Glance, Quick Phrases, Recorder, and more.

In May of 2019, Google Assistant Driving Mode was announced to replace “Android Auto for Phone Screens.” The launch occurred slowly, with the previous experience not going away until this June. Assistant Driving Mode is now losing Google Maps integration and this noticeably changes the experience to the point where it’s no longer an Android Auto replacement. 

As we’ve been expecting since June, Google is “simplifying [its] task management solutions by migrating Assistant and Calendar Reminders to Google Tasks.”

Just last week, the Nest Hub Max was updated with another way to skip “Hey Google.” This currently only works for certain commands, but Google Assistant will eventually let you make custom Quick Phrases.

After first debuting on the Pixel 6 last October, Quick Phrases are now available on the Nest Hub Max to skip the “Hey Google” hotword when issuing commands and asking questions to Assistant.

With the Pixel 6 last October, Assistant debuted “Quick phrases” to skip the hotword for two specific actions, and you might soon be able to “silence” incoming calls.

Over the past day, Pixel owners are encountering a bug that sees Google Assistant always open keyboard input over voice entry, while those users are also seeing “TNG” at the bottom-left corner of their screen.

With Google Calendar set to lose Assistant Reminders, you’ll be forced to use the very basic and incredibly laggy UI that’s part of the Google app. It’s still bad, but Google recently rolled out some usability tweaks to Reminders and restored the dark mode.

Just over a year ago, Google Assistant swapped out the “What’s on my screen?” button with a Lens-branded shortcut that could now be replaced by “Search this screen.”

The first Samsung customers are beginning to receive the Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro, and Google has some “important” advice for those that are having trouble getting Assistant for Wear OS up and running.

Wear OS 3 is finally on its way to other smartwatches, but its first new option is lacking a major feature. The Montblanc Summit 3 lacks support for Google Assistant entirely.

The saga continues this week, as Google has just filed a new lawsuit against Sonos just months after an unfortunate ruling that saw Sonos win and force Google to disable or break features for many of its products.

For quite some time now, Assistant has supported IFTTT, but Google is now warning people about “upcoming changes” to the third-party integration. Some functionality is being removed and all users need to set up IFTTT again.

“Look and Talk” for the Nest Hub Max launched at I/O 2022, and Google has now detailed how exactly the camera-based, “Hey Google” replacement works.