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Google introduces some new features for the Assistant

Written by Tehreem Farooqi ·  1 min read >

Google Assistant now lets you schedule actions for later as Google announced some exciting new features for its Assistant at the Consumer Electronics Show yesterday. Google had no hardware to present at the event but that doesn’t prevent the tech giant from getting into the news. Continuing their tradition of announcing Assistant features at CES, the firm had some good stuff for their users.

Google took the opportunity to talk about the development of the Assistant year over year and said that some 500 million people now use its smart-assistant app every month. It’s available on Android smartphones as well as a range of its Home smart speakers.

Coming to the features, let’s talk about the most talked one – scheduled actions. If you want your coffee ready before you enter the kitchen in the morning or you want your home pre-heated before you come back from office, this feature lets you do that. You can just tell the Assistant what you need done and when, like an alarm, and it will be.

In case you were feeling a little low on smart devices, Google has made Assistant compliant with many more to make your home smarter. You will be able to use different brands with the Assistant including August Smart Locks, Philips Hue, GE and much more. Other than brands, a number of more devices are here too. You can now control 20 more devices with your Google Assistant like air conditioners, air purifiers, coffee makers and others.

Android TV support is another feature hyped about. Along with some Hisense and TCL tellies, some TV models will be getting far-field mic support. So you will be able to use your smart TV just like your assistant. You can also buy Samsung smart TVs with Google Assistant built-in, starting this year.

Many other features are added by Google to improve family support, privacy settings, and adaptability. You can now delete Assistant history with a simple voice command, leave notes for your family, add your closed ones to speed dial, and it will be able to read you a whole article from a website easily. These features will greatly increase Assistant’s usability, what do you say? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Written by Tehreem Farooqi
Software Engineering student with expertise in blogging, SEO and graphic designing with a demonstrated history of working in online media publishing and social media management related to technology. Profile