Shopping list app Out of Milk gets Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa support

If you use shopping list app Out of Milk, you might like the new features. The app now supports both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. You will need to follow these instructions for Google Assistant on Google Home and this one for Amazon Alexa and you need to have an account created on the Out of Milk app or website to access the Out of Milk Voice assistant. Once you have that up and running though, you can do things like add and remove items from a list, include the quantity, add multiple items to a list, check which list you’re working on, and read off items on a list or off all the lists.

Source: Android Police

Android Oreo might introduce better app integration for Google Assistant

You can do a lot of things with Google Assistant. A simple Google search will bring up all you can do with it. One thing it needs to get better at though is third-party app integration. But it looks like Google is working on that one with its newest operating system iteration, Android 8.0 Oreo. A new string found within the Android Developers website code shows a possibility of interaction by voice as long as the app supports Android 8.0. This means, Google might be opening the ability for other apps to interact with its Google Assistant without the user having to leave the app. On top of that, it looks like Google wants to do the same for other digital assistants like Amazon’s Alexa app and Microsoft’s Cortana app.

Not much is known yet about when this might be coming to users or what sort of activities can be executed. But it does show us what we could expect. But as you might have noticed there are caveats to this, you’ll need to have an Android Oreo powered device and it’ll depend on the developer if they want to start working on the integration.

Source: Android Headlines

There might be Google Assistant-powered headphones in our future

With Apple’s success with the AirPods, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Google might be thinking of offering its own pair. 9to5Google’s teardown of the Google app APK shows the possibility of a pair of “magic pairing” headphones that will be powered by Google Assistant. Codenamed Bisto, Android Authority says it first appeared back in April but it wasn’t clear what kind of device it could be. Strings of code show that it could possibly be a pair of headphones that work with Google Assistant: <string name=”bisto_magic_pairing_assistant_prop_text”>”Your headphones have the Google Assistant. Ask it questions. Tell it to do things. It’s your own personal Google, always ready to help.”</string>. It might also be able to read incoming notifications to you has these strings suggest: <string name=”expand_bundle4_1″>To hear them, press the Google Assistant button” and “<string name=”expand_bundle_1″>=”expand_bundle4_1″>To hear them, press the Google Assistant button” and “<string name=”expand_bundle_1″>.

These lines of codes show the headphones (or earbuds) could have two physical buttons: one activates Google Assistant, while the “top button” will activate verbal notification alerts. There are other strings in the teardown that say Bisto will get OTA software updates, which could probably be through Android Wear. If this does come to fruition, will you get a pair?

Google Pixel XL 2 might get a ‘squeezable’ frame

If you’ve seen or heard of the HTC U11, you’ll be familiar with the device’s “squeezable” sides. HTC calls it Edge Sense, a feature that lets users squeeze the side of the smartphone to do things like turn on the flashlight, open the camera and take a photo, as well as launch Google Assistant. Something similar might be coming to the second iteration of the Google Pixel XL, except the device won’t be made my HTC. According to a leak from Android Police, it’ll supposedly be made by LG. The looks won’t stray too far from the original Pixel and it’ll still have a rear fingerprint sensor and a large single-lens camera.

The XL version is said to have a 6-inch LG-made display with 2:1 ratio, “minimal bezel,” and rounded corners. It might have a longer design with thinner side and top/bottom bezels. The squeezing part is said to trigger Google Assistant “in various ways.” There is no indication when the device will be released. And they also didn’t have any info on the smaller Google Pixel. But if Google follows last year’s launch, it could come out around October this year.

Source: MacRumors