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Tag: assistant

  • Google Assistant Will Come Up with a Fresh New Look

    Google Assistant Will Come Up with a Fresh New Look

    It appears that Google is testing a new UI for Google Assistant. Instead of the white box that pops up when the virtual personal assistant is activated, a transparent overlay with the words “Hi, I’m listening” covers the bottom third of the screen. That tells you that Google Assistant is ready to hear your question or request. At the bottom of the overlay are icons for the Update page and the virtual QWERTY keyboard, with the Google Pixel light bar underneath. Once the user gives his command to Google Assistant or swipes up, the currently used full page in white is displayed.

    Google is running a limited A/B test of the new UI, which is offered with version 9.84.10.21 of the Google app. It is unclear whether Google plans to roll this redesign out to all users, but it is interesting that no mention of this was made at Google I/O last week. It is possible that feedback generated by the A/B testing will be the final piece of the puzzle used to help Google determine whether to keep this new look for the feature.

    Google Assistant is considered by many to be the top virtual helper available with Amazon’s Alexa second and Apple’s Siri in third. Google announced last week that the next-generation version of Assistant will be able to handle tasks up to 10 times faster than the current version. There is some bad news to current Pixel owners; the next-gen Google Assistant could be exclusive to the Pixel 4. If Google sticks to tradition, the latter will be introduced in the fourth quarter of this year.

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  • Sonos to bring Google Assistant to its smart speakers

    Sonos to bring Google Assistant to its smart speakers

    The neverending saga regarding Sonos connected speakers and Google Assistant is about to end next week if the American company keeps its most recent promise. After a few years of uncertainty, the situation is about to get out of limbo with Sonos finally delivering Google Assistant support to its high-end speakers.

    As the company announced back in January, the Sonos One and Sonos Beam will receive an update that will make Google Assistant available to users. The information has been confirmed by Sonos in a shareholder letter released ahead of the company’s quarterly earnings call.

    The update that will add Google Assistant support will be available next week in the United States, but Sonos plans to bring it to other markets as well in the “next few months.” Although Sonos’ previous statement confirmed Google Assistant will be added to older speakers as well, the shareholder letter doesn’t include any mentions to these devices.

    We’ll update the story once Google Assistant support hits the Sonos One and Sonos Beam, but if what the US company says it’s true, you should be able to start using Google’s personal digital assistant no later than next week.

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  • Google Assistant brings its bedtime stories to Smartphones

    Google Assistant brings its bedtime stories to Smartphones

    One of the major Google Assistant features aimed at children, the ability to tell them stories, made its way to Google Home smart speakers about two years ago. Starting this weekend, the so-called Tell Me a Story feature, which is available in English, will be coming to Android and iOS phones in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and India.

    To activate the feature, simply say “Hey Google, tell me a story,” but you can also use the “Hey Google, tell me a bedtime story” if you want to get your kids ready for bed. Before you’ll be able to do that, make sure that you have the latest version of Google Play Books for Android or iOS installed.

    In addition to being able to listen to bedtime stories, families in the United States will be given access to a feature called read along, which is available on all Google Home smart speakers, including Home, Mini, Max, and Hub. Thanks to this feature, your bedtime stories will be more immersive since Google Assistant will add sound effects as you read select Disney Little Golden Books aloud, such as Coco, The Three Little Pigs, Alice in Wonderland, and many more.

    If you want to use read along, you’ll have to use a different command: “Hey Google, let’s read along.” You’ll also be able to ask Google Assistant to read an audiobook on Google Play by saying “Hey Google,” and you’ll hear a free sample if you don’t already own the audiobook.

    Keep in mind that audiobooks are available on Google Assistant in English in the US, Australia, Canada and Great Britain, in addition to German and Japanese.

  • Facebook is building a Voice Assistant

    Facebook is building a Voice Assistant

    Sometimes it feels like Facebook has no awareness of its public perception at all. There are already proven stories about how Facebook has been gathering more data than they claim and using that data in ways you might not expect. There are conspiracy theories that Facebook is spying on users and listening to conversations.

    Even so, Facebook built the Portal – a camera that follows you around your room for video chats – and now there are reports that Facebook is building its own voice assistant to compete with Google, Alexa, Siri, and Cortana (and Bixby, if you want to be a completionist about it). The Facebook Portal actually uses Alexa for voice commands, but it seems Facebook has been working on its own voice assistant. Ex-employees from Facebook told that a team in Facebook’s augmented reality and virtual reality group has been quietly working on the project since early 2018.

    There’s no indication of how Facebook would position the assistant, whether in the Facebook app itself or more as a replacement for Alexa in Portal hardware (assuming that hardware line continues.) It’s also unclear how far along Facebook is in building the assistant or even where it’s getting the voice data it would need to build the voice recognition piece.

    Also unclear is whether or not anyone actually wants a Facebook voice assistant. The Portal cameras have been failures by all accounts. Facebook’s last attempt to make a human-powered assistant (M) failed as well. Add to that the general erosion of trust in Facebook, it’s hard to imagine how the company could sell a product that actually does listen to you at all times.

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  • Get incredible Google Home Hub discounts

    Get incredible Google Home Hub discounts

    Even though it earned pretty good reviews after seeing daylight just six months ago and presumably contributed to Google’s thriving smart speaker sales numbers during the final quarter of 2018, the Home Hub has been massively discounted lately more times than we can count on the fingers of one hand.

    Right now, the Google Assistant-powered smart display is back up to its $149 list price at both its manufacturer’s official US e-store and third-party retailers like Best Buy, but one self-described “social shopping marketplace” has this extremely versatile and convenient product on sale at a big markdown yet again.

    The “catch” is you need to purchase two units to save a frankly unbelievable amount of money. Basically, you’re looking at a two-for-one or buy-one-get-one-free type of deal, as this heavily discounted Google Home Hub two-pack in black currently costs $153.95, or a hair over the aforementioned regular price of a single device. You’ll want to hurry, though, as the promotion, also known as a power deal in MassGenie user lingo, is set to expire within just four hours of the time of this writing.

    If you’d like to get something nice for yourself and a friend, a family member, or a special someone, today’s super-limited offer effectively brings the price of a Google Home Hub down to $77. Meanwhile, for only three extra bucks, you can purchase just the one smart display in your choice of Chalk or Charcoal paint jobs, although you have even less time to jump on that particular deal.

    For those unfamiliar with what this bad boy can do, suffice to say it’s essentially a smart speaker with a touchscreen… and smart home hub capabilities. You can watch YouTube videos, stream music, control various smart home accessories, and get answers to your most burning questions, all without ever lifting a finger.

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  • Google Assistant finally gets the celebrity voice

    Google Assistant finally gets the celebrity voice

    Back at Google I/O in May of 2018, Google promised users a special treat with Google Assistant — the addition of John Legend’s voice as an option for Google Home products and the Assistant on your phone. We’re now just about one month away from Google I/O 2019 and that promise has finally become a reality.

    All you have to do to get John Legend’s voice is to ask your Assistant to “talk like John Legend.” After that, you’ll have John Legend’s voice for a limited selection of things like giving weather updates, answering questions, and telling jokes, while “the regular Assistant” does everything else. We tested it out for a couple minutes and the general voice does sound like John Legend, even if it is a bit robotic, and there are fun Easter eggs to find, like when you ask “Do you like Chrissy Teigen?” or “What’s your middle name?” or “What’s your favorite song?” or “Serenade me.” In generally, questions about music will get something good from the voice.

    The one thing to remember is that Google has said this special voice will only be available for a limited time, although there’s no indication what that actually means. However, it seems like John Legend won’t be the only celebrity voice for the Google Assistant because this is Google’s way of showing off its WaveNet voice synthesis engine. The idea is that with a certain amount of data, it can impersonate anyone, so maybe at next month’s Google I/O we’ll hear about new voices in the works.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgHghcYqeto&feature=youtu.be

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  • Alexa allies with Cortana to take on Google Assistant, Siri

    Alexa allies with Cortana to take on Google Assistant, Siri

    It’s the first time two tech giants, Amazon and Microsoft open up their AI powered virtual aides to each other. Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp have joined forces to let their voice-controlled virtual assistants talk to each other, offering users the ability to seamlessly tap into work, their homes and shop online.

    The partnership is the first time two technology companies open up their artificial intelligence-powered virtual aides to each other, and will be aimed at outsmarting rivals Google Assistant and Apple’s Siri.

    The move in itself is rare as most virtual assistants are known to use data from their own ecosystems and not talk to one another.

    Users of Amazon’s Alexa will be able to ask Microsoft’s Cortana to do a range of activities — from booking a meeting to reading work email. And Cortana users will be able to call on Alexa to play music or turn on house lights.

    Not to be left behind, Alphabet Inc said on Wednesday Google Assistant will soon be available on third-party speakers and other home appliances.

    “Starting later this year, with manufacturers like LG, you’ll be able to control your appliances, including washers, dryers, vacuums and more from your Assistant on your smart speaker, Android phone or iPhone,” Google said.

    Several technology companies are trying to grab a share in smart homes, which allow consumers to control various connected appliances such as refrigerators and lights from a central hub or a smartphone.

    “In the long run it would seem that Amazon has more to gain from this deal, as Cortana remains trapped within the PC…while Amazon has won a powerful ally in its battle against Google,” Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell said.

    While Amazon introduced voice-controlled Alexa with its Echo speakers in 2014, Google launched Assistant on its Google Home speakers last year. Apple Inc in June introduced HomePod, powered by Siri.

    Amazon Echo devices will claim a 70.6 percent share of the U.S. market this year compared with a 23.8 percent share for Google Home, research firm eMarketer said in May.

    Users will be able to turn to their Echo device later this year and say, “Alexa, open Cortana,” or turn to their Windows 10 device and say, “Cortana, open Alexa,” the companies said.

    “It is surprising to me that these competitors have collaborated, that speaks to the quality of their respective CEOs,” Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said.

    “They understand that they will benefit more by working together than trying to destroy one another.”

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