Google Assistant gets a new look on Android Auto

Image: 9to5Google

Android Auto brings a new design for Google Assistant. Version 10.0 of the feature shows a glowing animation with Google colours when you use voice commands. It's similar to the design first seen on Pixel phones (and then brought to all Android devices). The Google Assistant logo appears beside the All Apps button, while the voice command text appears above the taskbar.

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Nothing ear (1) adds Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa support

Source: 9to5Google

Nothing backtracks on its initial statements, saying it wouldn't add virtual voice assistant support to its ear (1) earbuds. The company released an update that brings Amazon's Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple's Siri to the earbuds. To call the assistant of your choice, you need to triple tap on the earbuds.

The update comes through firmware version 0.6700.1.86, but 9to5Google reports that the earbuds often miss the third tap. The site recommends deleting and re-installing the ear (1) app to get the feature to work. Or you can choose to unlink and re-pair your earbuds to get rid of any lingering issues.

You can now just tell Google Assistant to 'stop' without saying 'Hey Google'

Photo by Moritz Kindler on Unsplash

If you missed that update, you no longer need to say "Hey Google" before telling your Google Assistant-powered smart home speaker or display to stop speaking. Now, you can just say "stop" for it to work. This feature comes in handy when the device is reading out your schedule or news and you've reached a point where you got the information you needed. It's a minor update, but it does make the interaction more natural.

As The Verge pointed out, this isn't a universal "stop making sounds" feature. And Google didn't say it was one anyway. Of course, when you're listening to a song, you still have to say the magic words, a.k.a. "Hey Google."

Google Assistant now shows you UV Index data on Android, iOS, and Nest Hub

UV Index data has been available on the Wear OS Weather app since April. But now, it's available on all platforms where Google Assistant is available. When you ask, "What's the UV index" or other permutations (like mentioning a city or particular day), you'll get a timeline from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in two-hour increments. The severity is colour-coded from green (1-2) to red-purple (8-11+). The verbal response will let you know UV exposure conditions later in the day. The timeline UI looks larger on smart displays, taking advantage of the bigger screen.

You can tap on the "UV Index Scale" at the bottom of the Google Assistant panel to get more information sourced from the World Health Organization. The exposure data Google gets is from The Weather Channel. Assistant recently added Air Quality info on the Nest Hub, with that data available on phones.

Source: 9to5Google