Assistant is Google’s personal assistant that is capable of answering questions, performing automated tasks, and more.
Verizon has announced that Hum, a cellular-connected car accessory that included Google Assistant support, is shutting down later this year.
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Back in June, Google introduced three new voices for the upcoming Gemini-Assistant revamp for the Nest Mini and Audio. Ahead of launch, Google has renamed most of them, but they otherwise appear to be the same.
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If you’re having trouble controlling lights via Google Home and voice commands, you’re not alone, as Google has acknowledged some issues regarding this functionality and is working to roll out a fix.
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Google Assistant has, especially in the context of the smart home, been crumbling over the past couple of years. In a post this evening, Google’s lead for Home and Nest has acknowledged Assistant issues while also teasing “major improvements” coming later this year.
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As part of bringing Gemini (models) to Assistant on the Nest Mini and Audio, Google is adding more natural voices. Following the initial seven options added in December, Google recently introduced three more voices.
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We didn’t get a real update about Gemini on smart speakers and display at I/O 2025 last week, but Google Home recently added a new “Voice assistant experiments” setting for it.
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Since December, Google has been testing a Gemini-powered upgrade for Assistant on some Nest speakers. The Nest Audio is now using the Gemini colors, which raises some interesting branding questions.
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Google has officially confirmed that the Assistant “Driving Mode” bar that appears at the bottom of Google Maps navigation on Android is no longer available.
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In February of 2024, Google Assistant Driving Mode was pared back to basically be a voice bar, but in recent days it has disappeared entirely from Google Maps on Android.
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The “Assistant” app on your Wear OS watch is getting updated today via the Google Play Store to version 1.18.x. There are no changes to Google Assistant, but the groundwork for Gemini is being laid out.
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Google Assistant launched on the Sense and Versa smartwatches in 2020. Now, it’s shutting down.
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Google confirmed that Gemini was replacing Assistant on watches last month. Gemini should arrive on Wear OS as a straightforward app update.
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Ahead of this year’s mobile deprecation, the Google app is no longer providing a link to Assistant settings.
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The Google Assistant wind down on mobile continues with Gboard rebranding “Assistant voice typing” on the Pixel to just “Advanced features.”
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Some months after confirming that upcoming LG smart TVs will get access to Copilot in the coming months, it appears that the Google Assistant is being removed from existing screens.
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It’s no secret that Gemini is coming to Android Auto soon, but it’s not here just yet. Ahead of the rollout, though, Google is removing the Assistant-colored microphone from Android Auto, seemingly as it prepares for the switch.
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It’s no secret that Google is planning to bring Gemini to Android Auto and, while that’s still not live, Android Auto 14.0 is now rolling out to all users and brings more hints that Gemini is just around the corner.
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Following the Android announcement last week, Gemini is set to replace Google Assistant on Chromebooks.
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On Friday, we learned that Gemini is replacing Google Assistant on Android phones. At the same time, Google quietly announced that Assistant is losing 7 more features.
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Just over a year after its launch and various feature parity updates, Gemini is set to replace Google Assistant on Android phones later in 2025. This follows yesterday’s model updates and bringing Deep Research to all users.
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Following Pixel Buds in September, Google Assistant headphones from other manufacturers will “no longer automatically read unread notifications.”
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In recent weeks, Google Assistant has gained support for setting Amazon Music as the default streaming service on Nest speakers and displays.
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In 2019, Google introduced a new class of Assistant device that provided dedicated mics in your car. Five years later, Google looks to be shutting down the “Google Assistant on Car accessory.”
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Alongside their new TV announcements at CES 2025, LG and Samsung have confirmed plans to adopt Microsoft Copilot as an AI voice assistant, not long after the latter brand ditched Google Assistant support.
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