Google’s answer to Siri, and much more, Google Assistant starting rolling out to Pixel devices on the latest Android Nougat update. The company made it clear that the new service will be available to mostly the Pixel devices and a few others.
However, according to Android Police, a few users who had joined Google app beta testing have just received an ‘Alpha’ update that is prompting the Google Assistant on their phones. The v6.13 update brings the Google Assistant to non-Pixel devices for the first time.
Since the app is in beta version, it will be a little unstable and could cause some functional troubles like force closure of apps, battery drain and unnecessary hogging of space. However, the main highlight is that this update brings the much awaited Google Assistant to devices other than Pixel, which should have been the case since the start.
Nevertheless, if you have this update, you will see a prompt on your screen saying “New! You just got the Google Assistant. You’ll still be able to get instant information about what’s currently on your screen, plus more.” If it doesn’t open up automatically, you can open Google Home or long tap on the middle virtual button.
However, with no news from Google about this, it seems like the company is simply testing this ability on non-Pixel devices, as the planned rollout should be in the next couple of months. It is high time Google standardised such features across all the smartphones, irrespective of the OS version.
Other updates on this ‘Alpha’ release
This latest beta update also brings a ‘recent’ tab that allows you to see your search history. It will also allow payments through Google Assistant, which is a first for Android smartphones. There is also a lite mode now, along with enhanced offline search.
The lite mode will be quite helpful for a country like India, as Google will automatically try to compress the websites and consume lesser data. You will be able to switch it on or off from the settings menu in the Google app.
Google wants to make it possible for you to do everything using the Google Assistant, even give it permissions to make payments for you, reply to messages, book flights and cabs and even set up reminders and alarms with ease.
With so much integration, it will beneficial for the customers to get Assistant on their smartphones and Google should make an effort to provide it to all Android smartphones running on Nougat. This is the standardisation that the company lacks and should provide to its loyal customers. You can sign up for Google app beta testing here.
Source: Android Police