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Google Home can help you find your phone when asked
As teased by Google at its Pixel 2 launch event earlier this week, its Home speakers can now actively ping your phone when you've misplaced it. (It's down the couch cushions, I bet.) For Android devices, the smart speaker will actually call your phone even if silenced. The feature works with iOS too, although it's a more like a typical phone call. Calling out "ring my phone" or "where's my phone" will stir the Home Speaker into action. And if, like some Engadget editors, you have multiple phones to find, Home will call each device before cycling on to the next one. But, like I keep telling you: it's down the side of the couch. Can't you just check there?
Google Assistant will tell your kids a bedtime story
Kids don't quite have the diction that adults do, which can make it hard even for us humans to understand them. Google knows this and has tweaked Assistant and Home to better pick up what your munchkins are laying down. The search juggernaut has also partnered with a number of providers for kid-specific things like stories from Disney and Sports Illustrated for Kids among others as well as simple games (like musical chairs). The just-announced Family Link will let you set up Google accounts for your youngsters under 13 too. The updates will be rolling out later this month.
Google's $399 Home Max smart speaker focuses on audio quality
At today's Made by Google event, the company has introduced a buffed up version of its Home assistant device called the Google Home Max. This version of the speaker uses premium materials and improved speakers (dual 4.5-inch high-excursion woofers, two custom tweeters), putting it in position to compete with products like those from Sonos (like the upcoming Sonos One that also has Assistant built-in) or Apple's upcoming HomePod.
Google is reportedly prepping a high-end Home 'Max'
Google Home users looking for a higher-end audio experience may just have their wish. According to a report at 9to5Google, the tech company is currently creating a new version of its smart speaker with stereo sound. It's also presumably larger and will come with a premium price. It's not hard to think of this as Google's response to Apple's HomePod and quality speakers like those from Sonos.
What if the Google-HTC deal is actually about voice assistants?
The news is out: HTC and Google have finally consummated their ages-long flirtation with each other. In exchange for $1.1 billion in cash, HTC will hand over 2,000 employees to the search giant. These are the people who formed the bulk of the Taiwanese company's "Powered by HTC" division, the R&D team responsible for building handsets like the Pixel.
Bose's next headphones may include Google Assistant
When Bose accidentally leaked a new pair of headphones in an email newsletter of all places, no one quite knew what the cans' mysterious action button was for. Well, now we do: activating Google Assistant. The upcoming Quiet Comfort 35 II over-ear cans will feature Mountain View's digital assistant and be among the first headphones to do so. 9to5Google confirmed this via Bose documentation, and a Reddit user spotted them in retail packaging as well.
Google Voice command may take frustration out of text messages
Google Voice is great for a number of things, in particular differentiating between the contacts worthy of your regular number and those you aren't quite there with yet. But as has become apparent recently, it's not great at sending text messages, especially from Android Auto, Android Wear and Assistant. Fortunately, help could soon be on the way in the form of a new voice command.
Google Assistant app now available on iPhones in Europe
If you've been hankering for a chance to play with Google Assistant but don't own an Android phone, Google Home or hate the Allo messaging app, we have good news: Google announced today that the standalone Assistant app has begun rolling out for iOS in the UK, Germany and France, following its US debut back in May.
Facebook’s AI suggestions come to Messenger in the UK
According to Facebook, chatbots were going to change the way we get things done. Users were meant to be able to to buy flowers, order fast food and check in with their bank without ever having to leave the Messenger app. The company quickly dialed back its enthusiasm, admitting that they were somewhat overhyped, but its core technology, M, still underpins Messenger today. Most of that functionality has been limited to the US, but this week Facebook has brought what it calls "M Suggestions" to the UK, allowing users to enjoy recommendations from its AI-powered personal assistant.
Google Home Preview Program is now available to everyone
If you like being on the bleeding edge and aren't afraid of a few bugs, the Google Home Preview Program is now available to anyone who wants to sign up, as 9 to 5 Google noticed recently. If you'd rather not be an AI assistant guinea pig, fear not. When Google first announced the program, it assured users that "this is not beta software." Rather, it is production quality, and users are "simply getting earlier access to new features before they're released broadly."
Amazon reportedly plans to add multiroom audio to Echo speakers
The ideal audio system in your home would allow you to hear whatever you're listening to as you move from room to room. These days, you don't even need an expensive multi-speaker setup. Google Home already has this capability, as does Chromecast and various Google Cast speakers. Now, according to a report on the German tech site Cashys Blog, Amazon is working on a way to send multiroom audio to its Echo devices.
Xiaomi's answer to Alexa is a $45 smart speaker
Xiaomi's Mi division, which sells some accessories in the US but still no phones, is getting into smart speakers. It just unveiled the Mi AI Speaker, its equivalent to Amazon's Alexa, Google Home and other personal assistant-type models. However, it play music and take voice commands for a lot less, costing just 299 RMB or around $45 when it hits shelves in China starting next month.
Amazon's Alexa lands on the HTC U11, and it works like it should
As promised, HTC is finally making it possible for owners of its U11 smartphone to install Amazon's Alexa. Starting today, those in the US who need yet another voice interface can download the HTC Alexa app from the Google Play Store -- we're told localized versions of Alexa are coming to other countries in the coming weeks. For those keeping count, that brings the U11's virtual assistant count to three: Google Assistant is also on-board, along with HTC's non-chatty Sense Companion.
Life with Bixby is equal parts futuristic and frustrating
In the future, the voice of Bixby -- Samsung's virtual assistant -- will ring forth from refrigerators and smart speakers and who knows what else. No wonder the company is taking its time with it. For those who really can't wait, Bixby's voice interface is available as a preview you can access now. I spent the last few days chatting with Bixby as often as possible. Our time together has been ... eye-opening, to say the least. It's definitely not ready for the wild, but despite the bad news surrounding it, Samsung's virtual assistant is starting to feel pretty capable. Emphasis on "starting to."
Google connects Home's voice commands to your uploaded music
A new tweak for Google Home makes it easier to access music you've uploaded, even if you're not a Google Play Music subscriber. While Google Play Music customers could already listen to uploaded or purchased music by either selecting it on another device and using the Cast feature or putting it in a playlist, a new update rolling out means you can ask for your tracks directly by voice. It's not active on my account yet even after a device reboot (although I do see the speaker as an available Bluetooth device), but a post in the Home support forum and updated notes on the support page explain how it all works.
Google Home and Assistant can speak Canadian French now
The first of several new languages for Google's Assistant AI is here, as users have noticed Canadian French as a language option. I was able to switch it on for my Google Home by looking for Assistant Language under device settings in its control app, while The Android Soul reports they could turn it on simply by saying "Ok Google, speak to me in French Canadian," however I could not get that to work. The new language is obviously there to get ready for the Google Home launch in Canada on the 26th, making it the first one Assistant supports outside of English. At Google's I/O event in May, the company announced that German, Brazilian-Portuguese and Japanese will be added this summer, followed by Italian, Spanish and Korean later in the year.
Bixby's voice features aren't finished, but US users can test them
Samsung's virtual assistant Bixby generated untold levels of hype before the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus launched, but the version we actually got to use still feels half-baked. While the company still hasn't locked down when Bixby's voice search and control features will go live, it just confirmed that brave users in the US can enroll in an "early preview test" to get a taste of what's coming down the pipeline.
Line’s cute AI speakers are unimpressed by your mindless requests
We knew Japanese messaging giant Line was working on an AI assistant called Clova, and that it would first inhabit a clever-looking smart speaker called the Wave. What we only just discovered, however, is that Clova's next physical avatars would include an unamused duck and a bear that always looks just a little disappointed.
Surprise! The HomePod actually sounds incredible
"Hey Siri, what's the weather like?" That was the first of many questions I asked the HomePod Apple installed in the corner of its WWDC demo area, and the answer was the same each time: silence. Sure, the hazy light on top of the speaker ebbed and flowed -- that doesn't mean it understood anything I was saying. Spokespeople quickly clarified that this was a nonfunctional demo unit, but I did eventually hear one next to a Sonos PLAY:3 and an original Amazon Echo. Musically, it blew them both out of the water.
Google Photos archiving rolls out with AI-powered suggestions
The new Archive feature recently spotted in Google Photos is now rolling out to all users, but it has an extra trick. While the Archive button lets you push more mundane photos (scans of receipts, screenshots of a random tweet, or maybe particularly personal photograph) out of the main Photos display without deleting it, there's also a new suggestion in the Assistant tab that will use its machine learning skills to find likely candidates for you. Of course, you can manually archive photos any time you like (they'll still show up in search or inside albums), but if you already have a significant Photos catalog this should make things easier. Whether you're using Android, iOS or the website, the new option should be there.
