Well its February 2020 and since our last update, Google has been really busy releasing new features for the Google Assistant
So we've got a lot to cover in this video including what Google announced at
CES and some major new features including: updates to note taking, new
options for photo frames, expansion of call screen, new podcast search, interpreter mode
expansion, and much more.
Let’s dive in.
Now just a quick word of warning, any of the features you see demoed in this video are
using the English version of the Google Assistant in the United States.
Also if you’re not in the US or you don't use the US English version of the Google Assistant, do note
that some of these features that we demo in our video may not have rolled out just yet.
Also note that we will be muting the wake word in our demos so we don't trigger your Google Assistant at home.
Alright, now lets move on to our first major Google Assistant update and this involves note taking.
Now you’ve been able to manage lists and add items to lists like your shopping list with the
Google Assistant for some time.
But now Google has expanded this feature to include note-taking and as the third party services
you can connect to the Google Assistant for note taking and lists.
You can now choose from several different services that the Google Assistant will sync
your lists and notes to including: Any.do, AnyList, Bring, and of course, Google’s
popular Keep note taking app.
You will also have the option to not sync your lists and notes to one of these
services.
To see your lists and notes, you just ask the Assistant to either “show me my notes
or “show me my lists”
To choose your new default notes and list service, go into your Assistant settings,
go to services, then choose notes and lists, and then choose the option you want.
Next up, let’s talk about some significant changes coming to the photo frame mode of Google
Assistant displays.
About a month ago or so, Google rolled out new buttons on the screen of Google Assistant
displays that allows you to share the current photo being displayed with your contacts through
Google Photos.
You can also share the photo currently being displayed by asking Google to share it.
The star button lets you add the current photo to your favorites, and then if you have a
photo you don’t want to see displayed, there is a button that, if you hit it, will make sure the photo
being displayed won't be displayed on your Google Assistant displays anymore.
Speaking of Google Assistant displays, Google has just rolled out a new feature for the
Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max that uses high frequency sounds to determine whether or not your close to the device.
When it detects that you’ve moved further away from the screen like after setting a
timer, the text on the screen will get larger, making it easier to read across the room.
This update also brings proactive notifications for the Nest Hub.
Now it won’t give you proactive notifications for a specific person like the Nest Hub Max will
because it uses facial recognition to do that, but it will give you proactive notifications that can be seen
by everyone in your household.
The Nest Mini also has the ultrasound sensor as well, though it’s capabilities are more
limited.
The Nest Mini can sense when you’re nearby and it’ll illuminate where you need to press
to increase or decrease the volume.
Alright, now let’s talk about Robocalls.
If you hate Robocalls and Spam calls as much as I do, you’re really gonna like this new Google Assistant
feature but if you’re not a Pixel 4 user, you're probably going to be envious of it.
What Google has done here is that they've expanded the call screen feature to allow the Google Assistant
to screen every call coming into your phone before it rings, unless that call is coming from a known contact in your phone.
To see the new settings, open your phone app and go into settings, select spam and call
screen, call screen, and it’s here where you’ll be able to decide which unknown calls
the Google Assistant will screen for you.
I have all of mine selected for the Google Assistant to screen so only people in my contacts
get through to my phone and so far, I haven’t got a single spam call since.
The feature works by utilizing the new Google Assistant on the Pixel 4.
The phone actually picks up the call without ringing your phone, you’ll get a silent
notification.
It’ll ask the person why they're calling and what the call is about.
Google: "Hi, this is the Google Assistant. Can I ask what you're calling about?"
Josh: "Hey, I'm just calling to talk with Josh."
Google: "Alright, hang on while I try to reach them."
If it's an actual person on the other end of the phone call and if they say something to the Assistant
Your phone will will then ring with the translation of
what the Google Assistant heard when screening the call, so you know what the person is calling
about.
It’ll then give you the option to either pick up the call, or decline it
This is hands down one of the most groundbreaking Google Assistant features that I’ve used within the
past 6 months. Now if you’re like me and get way too many robocalls and spam calls, having the Google Pixel 4 and 4 XL
as your phone just really makes a difference here.
Now if you’re curious to see what other features Google just rolled out for the Pixel 4 phones as well as older Pixel phones,
We just did a video about the latest Google Pixel Feature Drop, if you're interested, I'll make sure and leave a link to that video below.
Alright, next up, let’s talk about an update to the Google Assistant’s interpreter mode.
Interpreter mode first debuted last year on Google Assistant displays and focuses on being a
translator between two people speaking different languages.
Now, Interpreter mode is available for the Google Assistant on mobile devices, including
iOS devices.
To use it, just ask Google for example to be your French Interpreter, or “Help me
speak Thai.” or just say “interpreter mode.”
This will bring up the mode and you can thenhave your conversation with the other person, without
the need to constantly hit a button like in Google Translate.
The Google Assistant’s translator mode supports 44 languages to-date.
To see the full list, check out the video description below.
Next up, let’s talk Podcasts.
Google just added a new topical podcast search feature for the Google Assistant.
So, if 2020 is the year you're going to dive into the world of podcasts or if you've been listening to podcasts
for a long time now, you can use this feature to help narrow down your search for that perfect podcast.
You can ask Google to show you some tech podcasts or to find a podcast about Tesla, or if you’re
looking for a podcast with a specific person you can ask for that as well.
Next up let’s talk about reading bedtime stories to your kids.
Now this is a cherished memory between children and their parents and unfortunately, its often a moment
that parents more and more miss out on because they're either away from home for work, for business travel,
or they're serving in the armed forces and are being deployed overseas for months at a time.
Well Google is helping out here with a new feature that will allow parents
to read to your kids bedtime stories when they're away from home.
Parents can go to mystorytime.com to upload existing audio or record a new story and these
recordings are saved on the cloud and instantly available on your Google Nest Devices back
home.
Lastly a few quick updates.
Hulu has now added support for the Google Assistant, so you can watch Hulu on-demand
shows on your Google Assistant displays as well as use the Assistant to cast Hulu on-demand
shows to your Chromecast TV.
Due note, at the time of this recording, live TV shows on Hulu are not yet available through this service.
Alright, before we wrap up, I do want to take you through a couple things Google announced at CES that are pretty cool
and are due to rollout throughout the year.
Some of these features include a feature that will let the Assistant read out entire news articles on your Android phone,
a new sticky note feature for Google Assistant displays, scheduled actions, improved new smart home
device integrations and setup, and improving transparency around your privacy with the
Google Assistant.
You'll be able to ask the Assistant what it does with your voice recordings, how to delete your voice recordings
and more.
To see the full CES announcement, check out Google’s blog post in our video description
below.
Now we’ll have much more on these features as they roll out throughout the year, so make
sure you’re subscribed to our channel and hit that bell icon so you never miss out on
another one of our Google Assistant feature update videos.
Well, that’s it for February update, I hope you found this video helpful
if you did, make sure you hit that thumbs up button below.
For 6 Months Later, I’m Josh Teder, thanks for watching.