voice assistant
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Google Assistant is ready to find your Tile tracker
As promised, Google Assistant can now help find your Tile trackers with very little effort. Link the Bluetooth gadget in the Google Home app, set up Voice Match in Assistant and you can ask the voice helper to locate your trackers (and hopefully, the items attached to them) using a simple sentence rather than adding a prefix like "ask Tile to" every time. You can tell Assistant to ring your keys or find your bag.
Food Network's cooking classes begin on Echo Show and Alexa devices
At Amazon's big Alexa event last month, Discovery revealed its Food Network Kitchen service, which is now live across its iOS and Android apps and Alexa-powered devices. It includes live, interactive cooking classes featuring the network's star chefs, on-demand courses, recipes and Food Network TV shows as well as grocery ordering and delivery for all the ingredients you'll need to prepare the dishes you see on the service.
Pandora now works in Spanish on Alexa and Google Assistant
Pandora can now respond to requests en español in the US via Alexa and Google Assistant. You can activate Spanish voice controls by adding the language through the Alexa or Assistant settings.
Google Voice users can start calls and send messages with Siri
Following its latest iOS update, Google Voice now works with Siri. You can use Apple's assistant to start calls or send messages through the service. You can enable Siri control by going to the Google Voice options and marking a default account for calls outside the app. Then, you'll have to activate the Use with Siri option for the app in the iOS device settings.
Google Assistant has a new look on the Pixel 4
Google has given Assistant an overhaul, giving it a fresh look for Pixel 4 and making the voice assistant more useful, with a better understanding of context for the information or actions you ask it about. At the Made by Google event, the company showcased some of what the new Assistant has in store, including a zippy flow from Maggie Rogers' Twitter account to her upcoming shows, sharing that info with a friend and looking for tickets using the Continued Conversation feature.
Here's how Alexa learned to speak Spanish without your help
Now that Alexa knows how to speak Spanish in the US, there's a common question: how did it learn the language when it didn't have the benefit of legions of users issuing commands? Through new tools, it seems. Amazon has revealed a pair of system that helped Alexa hone its español (and Hindi, and Brazilian Portugese) using just a tiny amount of reference material. Effectively, they gave the natural language machine learning model a jumpstart.
iOS 13.2 beta gives you more control over Siri recordings
Apple is acting on its promise to offer more Siri privacy controls in the wake of reports that quality control contractors were listening to sensitive info. The second beta of iOS 13.2 adds options to not only opt out of sharing Siri and Dictation audio, but to delete the entire history of interactions associated with your device. You can't scrub recordings that have already been used to improve Siri, but those are already disassociated from your hardware.
Google's Pixel 4 may invoke Assistant when you raise the phone
It's not that difficult to invoke Google Assistant on most Pixel phones, whether it's saying "hey Google," squeezing the sides or making an on-screen gesture. With the Pixel 4, however, it might become downright trivial. A 9to5Google report claims the upcoming device will let you start Assistant commands just by raising your device and starting to speak. You'd just have to do what comes instinctively to ask about the weather or turn on some lights.
Surface Earbuds are Microsoft's voice-focused true wireless option
As was rumored earlier this year, Microsoft has been working on smart earbuds -- it unveiled the Surface Earbuds Wednesday. They're touch and voice-enabled with omnisonic sound, and boast a pair of mics in each bud. They come with a charging case and boast a battery life of up to 24 hours. The Surface Earbuds will start at $249, and they'll ship during the holiday season.
You'll soon be able to ask Siri to play songs on Spotify
It's been a long time coming, but it looks like you'll soon be able to queue up songs on Spotify with the help of Siri. If you own an iPhone, the lastest Spotify beta allows you to ask Apple's digital assistant to play songs, albums and playlists, says The Verge, which was among the first to spot the new functionality.
Food Network's cooking instruction service lets you ask Alexa for help
Discovery wants to be your one-stop shop for cooking classes, and it's enlisting Amazon's help to make that happen. The broadcaster has unveiled a Food Network Kitchen service that offers a mix of live classes from celebrity chefs, on-demand classes, TV shows and recipes. It'll be available on a raft of Amazon devices (including Echo Show and Fire TV gear) in addition to the virtually obligatory Android and iOS apps, but the real attraction may be the deep tie-ins with Alexa -- Food Network Kitchen may effectively become the go-to option for cooking on Alexa-equipped devices.
Build an Alexa Skill that controls Lego sets and win a prize
What if Lego sets could respond to voice commands? That's the premise of a new contest Amazon and Lego launched on Tuesday that asks enthusiasts and developers to use the Alexa Gadgets Toolkit to add voice commands to Lego's Mindstorms sets. All you have to do is create an Alexa skill that takes advantage of the sensors and motors that come with each set.
Amazon enlists 30 companies to improve how voice assistants work together
Just because you have an Amazon device doesn't mean you should be limited to interacting with Alexa -- or so Amazon believes. Today, the company announced a new Voice Interoperability Initiative. The goal is to work with other companies so that users can access multiple voice services -- from Alexa to Cortana and Salesforce's Einstein -- on a single device.
You'll be able to contribute to 2020 presidential campaigns via Alexa
With debates underway and just a few months until the first primaries, 2020 presidential election campaigns are in full swing, and you'll soon have another way to donate to your favorite candidate. Campaigns can sign up to receive contributions via Alexa and, from next month, you'll be able to donate between $5 and $200 to participating candidates through Amazon's voice assistant.
Facebook contractors are listening to Portal voice commands again
Facebook may have halted human review of Messenger voice chats in August, but that didn't mean it was putting the brakes on everything. The company has revealed to Bloomberg that its contractors will go back to reviewing Portal device voice commands (what you say after "hey Portal") after quietly pausing them around the same time as Messenger reviews came to a halt. It's bringing the practice back now that there's "more transparency and control," hardware lead Andrew Bosworth said. You now have an option to stop sharing the audio with Facebook.
Alexa Auto adds offline capabilities that work in tunnels and parking garages
Having an Alexa-enabled car is convenient if you want to make a call, check the weather or order groceries while you drive. But that convenience quickly disintegrates when you drive through tunnels, parking garages or remote areas and lose signal. Amazon wants to fix that. Today, it released version 2.0 of its Alexa Auto SDK, which now comes with a bunch of offline functions.
Google Assistant on Pixel 4 may handle calls while you're on hold
Google Assistant's ability to handle phone calls may extend beyond booking appointments. A 9to5Google source claims Assistant on the upcoming Pixel 4 will have the option of taking over when you're on hold, bringing you back when another human answers. You'd only have to tap a button to ignore the hold music and get things done. It's not clear if this will also skip the canned "your call is very important to us" messages, but that's certainly the dream -- you wouldn't be jolted back into the call until an actual service rep was there to help.
Google Assistant will help you find Tile trackers
You don't want to lose an item tagged with a Tile Bluetooth tracker, but you'll at least have an easier time finding it in the near future. Tile is planning Google Assistant support that will let you directly ring your tracker from any device that supports the AI helper, making it just a matter of a quick voice command. You could find your keys just by asking your Nest speaker while you're frantically searching between the couch cushions.
Google Assistant and Maps are coming to GM vehicles in 2021
GM and Google are working to bring a voice assistant, embedded navigation and in-vehicle apps to Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles beginning in 2021. The companies announced the partnership today, and according to GM, it plans to eventually roll the tech out in all vehicle brands.
Apple will still review Siri recordings, but only if you opt in
Earlier this month, Apple suspended the program which used contractors to review clips of audio gathered by Siri. Users were up in arms after they learned that the contractors sometimes heard sensitive information, like medical records, personal interactions and criminal activity. Today, Apple issued an apology and promised changes.
