Amazon Alexa can now be your default voice assistant on Android

Google has always been okay with its users turning to other AI-powered smart assistants from its competitors. Android already supports Microsoft Cortana and now it adds Amazon’s Alexa into the mix. A Reddit user found that you can access Alexa by holding down the home button. Depending on what phone you use, setting up Alexa is going to look a bit different. But you just need to update your Alexa app, afterwards head over to your phone’s settings and head over to the “Assist app” section to make the change.

There are some caveats, though. It can’t pull up maps or make native calls and you can’t activate it by voice or by squeezing the phone but you can do a quick Google search with it. Some of the phones that seem to have access to the feature include Google Pixel 2, One Plus 5, One Plus One, Xperia, Moto G5 Plus, Essential Phone 1, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, and Samsung Galaxy S9 devices.

Source: The Verge

Google Assistant now compatible with over 5,000 devices

Google's voice-powered assistant is now compatible with 5,000 devices. Showing that Google is growing its ecosystem to compete with Amazon's Alexa, which is has 12,000 can work with smart home devices from over 2,000 brands. Google Assistant can be accessed using smartphones, Google Home smart speakers, Wear OS devices and Chromebooks.

“Over the past year, we’ve made great progress ensuring that the Google Assistant can work with all types of connected devices, and now every major device brand works with the Assistant in the U.S.,” Google’s Michele Turner writes. She notes that the smart devices with which Google Assistant is compatible include “cameras, dishwashers, doorbells, dryers, lights, plugs, thermostats, security systems, switches, vacuums, washers, fans, locks, sensors, heaters, AC units, air purifiers, refrigerators, ovens [and more].”

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Google Assistant on Wear OS will help make your life easier

Google Assistant on Wear OS is about to get that much more useful with several updates heading its way over the next few days. One thing coming is smart suggestions. This means, when you ask Google Assistant a question, it’ll automatically populate the screen with contextual follow-up questions that you can select. Another is that if you ask Google Assistant to “tell me about my day,” it’ll speak back to you through the watch speaker or Bluetooth headphones to let you know about what you have going on for the day. You previously had to look at the watch’s display to get these answers. Last new feature is Google getting support for third-party actions with Assistant. Actions are the little things you can do with Google Assistant and third-party developers that support it. By making Actions available on Wear OS, you can do things like turn on a compatible oven while you unload groceries and help get things started.

You can use Google Assistant to process payments with supported merchants

You may or may not know it but at the start of April, Google has allowed users in Canada as well as Australia, France, Germany, Japan, and the UK input their payment and delivery information in Google Assistant settings. Through this feature you can add your payment method (credit or debit card) as well as shipping address. These payment profiles can be used to pay for items and services of third-party services that have implemented the feature. Just head to the Payments menu in your Google Assistant settings to input your information.

Source: Android Police