You’ll soon be able to use the Google Assistant without saying ‘Hey, Google’

by Jeremy

Google announced many new features coming to the Google Assistant with Android 12 at I/O 2021 — including shortcut expansions. A teardown of the latest Google App v12.22.5 by XDA Developers has revealed another new feature that will soon be added to the Assistant.

The upcoming “quick phrases” feature will allow users to interact with the Google Assistant without saying the “Hey Google” hotword. The quality is code-named “guacamole” and was first spotted in April this year when a “voice shortcuts” page suddenly appeared in Google Assistant’s settings for some users. As per the report, the quality will only work for the most common voice interactions, such as dismissing a ringing alarm or an ongoing timer.

Google Assistant

The latest Google App includes strings related to the dynamic shortcuts feature announced last month along with quick phrases. Once the part rolls out, the Assistant will proactively suggest shortcuts based on your app usage and context.

Google introduced Dynamic Shortcuts with Android Nougat to allow developers to provide context-specific actions within their apps. The new Suggestion Chips will appear at the Assistant UI’s bottom, just like the existing action suggestions. Once you tap on the deep link shown in the Suggestion Chip, you will be redirected to the relevant page in an app.

These features will be rolled out to the best Android phones sometime soon. Another helpful feature coming to Google Assistant later this year is the ability to turn off your phone. However, unlike quick phrases and dynamic shortcuts, the ability to turn off your phone using the Assistant is expected to be limited to Android 12.

Update, Sep 2 (2:10 a.m. ET) ― Here’s how the upcoming “Quick Phrases” feature will work

The folks at 9to5Google have uncovered more details about “Quick phrases.” You can enable the “specific tasks” feature that “will work just for you” through Voice Match. As shown in the screenshots below, the specific tasks you add will show up in the “Your salsas” section.

While there’s no word on what devices will support Quick Phrases at launch, 9to5Google suggests it will likely be available on select intelligent speakers and displays, in addition to the best Android phones…

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