Google Assistant
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Google’s Wear OS gets a new look
Wear OS, Google’s smartwatch operating system that was once called Android Wear, is getting a new look today. Google says the overall idea here is to give you quicker access to information and more proactive help. In line with the Google Fit redesign, Wear OS now also provides you with the same kind of health coaching as the Android app.
In practice, this means you can now swipe through multiple notifications at once, for example. Previously, you had to go from one notifications card to the next, which sound minor but was indeed a bit of a hassle. Like before, you bring up the new notifications feed by swiping up. If you want to reply or take any other action, you tap the notification to bring up those options.
Wear OS is also getting a bit of a Google Now replacement. Simply swipe right and the Google Assistant will bring up the weather, your flight status, hotel notifications or other imminent events. Like in most other Assistant-driven interfaces, Google will also use this area to help you discover other Assistant features like setting timers (though I think everybody knows how to use the Assistant to set a time given that I’m sure that’s 90% of Assistant usage right there).
As for Google Fit, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Wear OS is adapting the same circle design with Hear Points and Move Minutes as the Android app. On a round Wear OS watch, that design actually looks quite well.
While this obviously isn’t a major break from previous versions, we’re definitely talking about quality-of-life improvements here that do make using Wear OS just that little bit easier.
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Google Assistant is coming to Google Maps
Google wants to bundle its voice assistant into every device and app. And it’s true that it makes sense to integrate Google Assistant in Google Maps. It’ll be available on iOS and Android this summer.
At Google I/O, director of Google Assistant Lilian Rincon showed a demo of Google Maps with Google Assistant. Let’s say you’re driving and you’re using Google Maps for directions. You can ask Google Assistant to share your ETA without touching your phone.
You can also control the music with your voice for instance. Rincon even played music on YouTube, but without the video element of course. It lets you access YouTube’s extensive music library while driving.
If you’re using a newer car with Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, you’ve already been using voice assistants in your car. But many users rely exclusively on their phone. That’s why it makes sense to integrate Google Assistant in Google Maps directly.
It’s also a great way to promote Google Assistant to users who are not familiar with it yet. That could be an issue as Google Assistant asks for a ton of data when you first set it up. It forces you to share your location history, web history and app activity. Basically you let Google access everything you do with your phone.
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You can now easily buy movie tickets with Google Assistant
Google Assistant is gaining some new capabilities thanks to a deal with Fandango that should make ordering movie tickets a quick and easy process. Simply tell Google Assistant that you want to buy some movie tickets and you’ll see what’s playing nearby; you can dial in the specificity to find out just what’s playing at a specific theater or at which theaters a particular flick is going to be.
The deal is going live on May the Fourth
in honor of the Star Wars marketing holiday and the fact that advanced tickets for Solo: A Star Wars Story are going on sale today.
This functionality is something that’s been available on Siri, but Google Assistant allows you to make the purchase without downloading the Fandango app, which had pretty much negated most of the utility this feature had on Siri.
For now, this launch is just for Google Assistant on Android phones, but if you’re perplexingly a heavy user of the Google Assistant app on iOS, then you’ll be able to get your movie ticket ordering functionality sometime later this year.
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Google will start investing in early-stage startups that use the Assistant
Google is betting big on the Assistant ecosystem and it’s now putting its money where its mouth is. The company announced today it’s launching a new program that will provide investment capital and other resources to early-stage startups that build applications in the Google Assistant ecosystem.
Typically, companies announce these kinds of programs to kickstart an ecosystem around a new product. While developers have already launched plenty of services for the Google Assistant, the company says that it is launching this new program to “promote more of this creativity.”
Google VP for search and the Google Assistant Nick Fox echoed this. “With the Google Assistant, we’re focused on fostering an open ecosystem for developers, device makers, and content partners to build new experiences,” he told me. “We’re already seeing a lot of creativity from developers with the Google Assistant, and to help promote this, we’re opening a new investment program for early-stage startups.”
Investments are one part of this program, but Google will also work with these startups directly to provide them with mentorship and advice from engineers, product managers and design experts. The startups in the program will also get early access to new features and tools, as well as access to the Google Cloud Platform and promotional support. That sounds a bit like an accelerator program, though that’s not quite what Google is calling it.
Fox tells me that Google won’t put a cap on the investments. “We’ll invest as much as we see fit, and are focused on helping startups succeed in this emerging space,” he said. “And we’re not just offering investment capital. We’re eager to partner with these startups and leverage our company’s strengths to help these products come to market poised for success.”
The first startups in this program include GoMoment, a concierge service for hotels and Edwin, a personal English tutor, as well as the developer tools BotSociety and Pulse Labs.
These startups are good representatives of what Google is after. Fox tells me that Google is looking for startups that are “pursuing an interesting space for Assistants, such as vertical industries like travel or gaming.” In addition, Google is also looking to deepen some of its partnerships, but for the most part, it’s simply looking for startups that are pushing technologies like the Assistant forward.
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Voice assistants weigh in on Super Bowl LII
Today marks the 52nd Super Bowl, and quite a bit has changed since that first big game. Then, it was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. In 1967, the cost of a movie ticket was $1.25, and color TV was just starting to become popular. Today, more than fifty years later, we can now stream the big game to our pocket computers and have artificially intelligent assistants sitting around in… Read More
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Google Lens in the Assistant starts rolling out to all Pixel users
We knew this was only a matter of time, but Google today confirmed that Google Lens as part of the Google Assistant is now rolling out to all Pixel phone owners. That’s something Google already announced at its hardware event, but until now, the timing was unclear. If you don’t see it when you call up the Google Assistant, though, don’t worry. The company says that this… Read More
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Google Assistant now has a male voice option
Google Assistant is adding a little dimensionality to its voice characterization: The virtual AI companion got an update that adds a voice option called “Voice II” which sounds decidedly male (via Engadget). The second voice option is available in Assistant’s settings (not yet live for all, so your mileage may vary) and applies to the Home app as well as to your… Read More
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Google launches Google Assistant on the iPhone
Watch out Siri, there’s a new kid in town. Google just announced at its I/O developer conference that its personal assistant is coming to iOS. You won’t be able to replace Siri with Google Assistant, but you’ll be able to use the feature in Google’s dedicated app. Google Assistant hits more Android devices today
Your Android phone is about to get an upgrade. Google today is making good on its promise to bring its Siri alternative known as Google Assistant to more Android devices, starting today. The company announced at Mobile World Congress over the weekend that its Assistant would soon launch in the U.S., followed by English-language launches in Australia, Canada and the U.K., as well… Read More
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SoundHound raises $75M to bring its voice-enabled AI everywhere
SoundHound has been around for 10 years and, before today, had raised around $40 million in financing as it’s worked to build a massive conversational AI platform. But today, the company is adding even more cash to that pile, nearly doubling the amount already raised with a $75 million round including strategic investors like NVIDIA and Samsung Catalyst Fund, among others. SoundHound… Read More
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