The voice-powered Google Assistant on your Android device can do all sorts of useful and entertaining things for you when you issue a simple voice command. You’ll find the Assistant on nearly any Android smartphone—and if it’s not enabled on your device, you can switch it on under Settings > Google Assistant.
Once you’ve done that and enabled the ‘Hey Google’ option, there are many useful ways to interact with the Google assistant. Just say “Ok, Google” or “Hey, Google”, and state your command. Alcatel lists some useful Google Assistant features and commands that can enhance your Android experience.
- Take a timed photo
Want to get the perfect selfie or group photo, without someone nearby to snap your shot for you? Simply say “Take a photo in 20 seconds” or “Take a selfie in 10 seconds,” or whichever countdown you need.
- Get a reminder of important info
Worried you’ll forget where you put the spare keys for your car, your parking bay number or any other personal info? Simply tell Google Assistant: “Remember my spare keys are in the filing cabinet in my study.” If you need them, just ask, “Where are my spare keys?”
- Get web pages read aloud
You can ask Google to read back web articles that are open on your browser to you, as well as to translate them if they’re in a different language to the one you speak. You can also send and read messages with Google Assistant through SMS and messaging apps such as WhatsApp.
- Control apps
Google Assistant can interact with numerous apps on Android such as Instagram, Outlook, and Spotify. On Spotify, for instance, you can give commands such as:
o Play the next song
o Play my R&B playlist
- Watch television
You can ask Google Assistant to play you a particular title or type of content on Netflix or YouTube. Simply say “play…” and then what you want to watch and on which app. For example, say, “Play Cobra Kai season 2 on Netflix” or “Play trending videos on YouTube”. You can also use voice commands to pause or skip videos, to turn captions on and off, and more.
- Location-based reminders
A little-known trick in Google Assistant is the location-based reminder. Imagine if you need to remind your child to remember that she has brought her homework diary when you pick her up from school or want to remember to buy milk when you go to the mall. You can set up a reminder that will be triggered when you reach that location. To start, set up your important locations in Google Maps. Then simply say to the Google Assistant: “Remind me to buy milk and sugar while I’m at Pick n Pay Rosebank.”
