Everything to know about the Google Assistant on our new family of hardware
Earlier this week, we introduced a new lineup of devices—with the Google Assistant built in—to help you get things done at home, at work, or on the go throughout your day.
But let’s take a step back. So far this year, we’ve introduced a number of ways to have a more natural conversation with Google. For example, you’re able to speak two languages interchangeably with the Assistant on smart speakers and phones, and Continued Conversation lets you go back and forth with the Assistant without repeating “Hey Google” between questions. Plus, the Assistant works with every major connected device brand in the U.S. for your home, from dishwashers and dryers to AC units and locks.
Here’s a look at all of the exciting new Assistant features and devices coming to you over the next few weeks:
Smart Displays
Google Home Hub joins our lineup of Smart Displays, which already includes the JBL Link View and Lenovo Smart Display, with another offering from LG later this year.
Major updates to your Smart Display: Previewed at our recent Made by Google event, these new features will roll out to the entire family of Smart Displays over the next few weeks:
With multi-room audio, you can add your Smart Display to a speaker group and play music throughout the house.
With Live Albums from Google Photos, your Ambient Mode will always show off the best photos of your favorite people and pets without you having to curate them. It will also make sure to pick your best photos, so that receipts, screenshots, duplicates, and blurry or sensitive photos will not appear on your Smart Display.
With Nest Hello Doorbell, your Smart Display will now show who is at the door when someone rings, and allows you to send quick responses.
With Home View, you can see and control all of your smart home devices in a single dashboard by swiping down from the top edge of your Smart Display.
Your Google Assistant can now also control many popular media and entertainment devices, including TVs (Hisense, Philips, Sharp,Sony, Vizio, Xiaomi), set top boxes (Dish, Foxtel, nVidia Shield, Sling, Vodafone), speakers (Denon), smart remotes (Logitech Harmony) with many more coming soon from Caavo, LG, Panasonic, Roku®, Telus, and Telstra. Enjoy universal controls to power devices on and off, adjust playback/volume, and browse a visual channel guide—all by touch or by voice on your Smart Display.
Phones
Screen calls and block spam: When you get an incoming call from an unknown caller, just tap “Screen call” to let the Google Assistant help out. You'll see a transcript of the caller's responses in real-time. This feature is coming to Pixel 3 this month and to Pixel 1 and 2 in November.
Book reservations at more restaurants: Later this year, Pixel users in New York, Atlanta, Phoenix and the San Francisco Bay Area will be the first to experiment with a new Google Assistant feature, powered by Duplex technology, which handles booking a restaurant reservation over the phone on your behalf.
A visual snapshot of your day: Available across all smartphones, you’ll soon be able to see event recommendations, pull up your recent notes and lists and get important reminders from the visual overview. Just tap on the icon in the top right corner of the screen after you’ve activated your Google Assistant or swipe up.
Take advantage of the Assistant in the lockscreen: After opting-in through your Assistant settings, the Assistant can respond to queries like “Hey Google, what’s next on my calendar?” without unlocking your Pixel 3 each time.
New accessories to enjoy the Assistant
The Pixel 3 comes with Pixel USB-C Earbuds optimized for the Google Assistant, so you can ask to play your favorite playlist while on a run, without looking at your phone. Just press and hold the dedicated button to talk to the Google Assistant.
We also introduced Pixel Stand, which brings a contextually relevant Google Assistant experience to your phone. When you dock your phone, the display UI adjusts so that it’s easily glanceable from across the room. It gives you quick access to the Google Assistant, so you can get a rundown of your day, see the traffic for your commute, listen to your favorite podcast or cast a show to your TV.
Better manage your time and activities on devices
Our new phones, smart speakers and Smart Displays come with Digital Wellbeing built in to give youthe tools that help you and your family balance your time and activities on these devices.
If you have a Smart Display or a speaker with the Google Assistant built in, open the Google Home app on your phone. Soon, you’ll see a “Filters” setting that will allow you to easily manage your kids’ digital activities and a new “Downtime” feature to create a schedule that will block the device between certain hours. Pixel 3 and other phones will also be getting Digital Wellbeing features— you’ll be able to ask the Assistant to “Set wind down for 10pm” and the Google Assistant will gently transition your display to a grayscale screen. Or, you can ask "How much time have I spent on my phone today" to keep track of your time spent on the phone.
So that’s what’s new with the Assistant! We’re continuing to make it more helpful, fun and available on new devices—whether you’re at home, on the go or somewhere in between.
