Google Assistant

Google recently updated the default “Shopping List” experience used by Assistant and Home devices. For many users, it’s a huge visual and functional regression that has taken away useful capabilities.

Home security is important in today’s day and age, but it’s something that’s unfortunately not easy in Google’s ecosystem. While Nest cameras go a long way in protecting your home, Google pulled the plug on its only true security system, Nest Secure, in late 2020 with no replacement. Lately, I’ve been spending time with a SimpliSafe Google Assistant-compatible home security system, and it certainly goes above and beyond filling that need.

Once a Pixel 6 exclusive feature, Google seems to have enabled the flagship’s excellent Assistant voice typing on more Pixel phones.

Public parking can sometimes be a bit frustrating, but Google Assistant is making an attempt to improve the process.

It’s been clear for some time now that Assistant Snapshot “does not have the same level of vision, central on-phone placement, or wide backing” as Google Now. It was never going to be game changing, but its upcoming demise officially closes the chapter on what could have been a radically different way to use smartphones.

Android has a lot of features that have the potential to make things a little easier. Sometimes, those features are a little out of the way and hidden. One prime example is the Google Assistant Snapshot feature. This guide will take you through what Snapshot is and how you can use it.

Truly wireless earbuds have a variety of use cases, but their small and portable form factor have, for me, always been a great fit for ambient audio. That’s a purpose that most brands have basically ignored, short of Google’s Pixel Buds. The new Sony LinkBuds go all-in on mixing your music with the surrounding world, and I’ve been waiting years for these to exist.

Google Snapshot is a useful tool that lives within Assistant and acts as a hub for predictive information — in essence, it’s a limited version of Google Now. Unfortunately, Google is killing off Snapshot, with a message now appearing to users saying that the feature is “going away soon.”

It’s not uncommon for smart speakers of all kinds to fail once in a while, but it seems there’s a larger issue at play with some Google Assistant devices currently. If your Google Assistant device is suddenly saying “Sorry, I didn’t understand” a lot, you’re not alone.

There are a lot of users out there who don’t mind setting their earbuds to ambient mode and going on with their lives. With the Sony Link Buds, that seems to be the main focus.

For Safer Internet Day 2022, Google is previewing a handful of new features across several products, including Assistant, Fi, and Account security, and a slew of related initiatives.

Following Samsung’s tease yesterday afternoon, Google today provided more details on the new Assistant experience coming to Wear OS, including its new design.

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 made the switch over to Wear OS, but it remained an experience that was clearly Samsung’s more than Google’s. Now, Samsung is providing an update on Google Assistant for the Galaxy Watch 4, saying that the promised feature is still “months” away from its debut.

Some of my favorite earbuds in recent memory have come out of Jabra’s Elite lineup, with great fit, reasonable cases, and very good audio quality to boot. However, the company’s latest high-end model feels like a step back, as Jabra Elite 7 Pro has lesser sound quality despite its long-overdue addition of Google Assistant and other features.

At I/O 2019, Google introduced the ability to cancel alarms by just saying “stop,” while the Pixel 6 picked up “Quick Phrases” last year. You can now tell Google Assistant on Smart Displays and speakers to “stop” talking without having to first preface that command with “Hey Google.”

People like using their Google Assistant Smart Displays and speakers to play white noise before sleeping. Google earlier this week changed the white noise ambient sound and there has been an onslaught of complaints from Home/Nest users.

Google Assistant speakers and Chromecast-compatible products were hit with some big changes last week, as Google lost a lawsuit from Sonos that required the company to make some changes. Now, the “Device Utility” app Google built to work around those changes is being review-bombed as users express their discontent with the alterations.

In addition to new features for the regular Auto experience, Google is announcing several Android Automotive features at CES 2022, including a YouTube app.

For two products that should be very important to Google, Assistant and Lens had a quiet 2021 compared to even the year prior. Fortunately, the lack of movement seems to be due to upcoming advancements being not quite ready yet.