Google Assistant is getting better at natural conversations and pronouncing names

Google has announced a host of improvements that are coming to its eponymous AI assistant. Starting with recognizing names and pronouncing them correctly, Google Assistant will let you teach it how the names saved in your contacts are pronounced so that it doesn’t falter the next time you tell it to call or text that person. This feature will definitely be a very convenient upgrade for the AI assistant’s abilities, as it often fails to pick up the names, especially if they’re not from an English-speaking culture.

However, Google says that whatever you teach the AI assistant about pronouncing names correctly and learning to recognize them when you utter those names, it will not be stored in a recorded form. In the early phases, this Google Assistant capability to learn the pronunciation from you will initially be limited to English, but will soon be expanded to more languages as well.

Additionally, Google is also employing a technology called Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) that will boost its natural language skills and ability to more accurately understand nuanced voice commands with proper context.

For example, when you say a slightly corrected voice command such as “Hey Google, set a timer for 5 minutes, no wait 9 minutes,” Google Assistant will no longer pick the first part of the sentence to name the timer. In this case, the alarm won’t be called ‘5 minutes, no wait’ that will ring after 9 minutes. Instead. Google Assistant will now recognize that you made a mistake while saying the voice command, and it will process it accordingly.

Additionally, it will now be able to add some element of chronology if you’ve created multiple tasks without naming them. For example, if you set two timers one after another without naming the task, Google Assistant will queue them accordingly. Now, when you say ‘Hey Google, cancel the second timer,’ the digital assistant will automatically kill the second timer without asking for its name or simply failing to comprehend and execute.

Another upgrade coming to Google’s AI assistant is called Relative Time Reference. So, if you ask the digital assistant to set an alarm for 4pm, and then follow it up with a request to move it an hour ahead, the assistant will change the alarm timing to 5pm. Earlier, the follow-up request would result in the assistant setting up a new alarm an hour later.

google assistant context

Lastly, Google Assistant will now take into account your previous question and what is being displayed on the screen to more accurately answer your query. For example, if you ask about the temperature in New York, and then follow it up with a voice command such as ‘Hey Google, show me the ten tallest buildings’ without specifying which city or country, the Assistant will automatically deduce that you were talking about New York, based on the conversation history.

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Google Assistant’s new trick lets you do things without saying ‘Hey Google’

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The Google app has quietly received a cool feature that allows you to perform a handful of tasks without having to say the ‘Hey Google’ hotword. This is actually not a new feature, as it was originally announced back in 2019 at Google I/O and allows you to perform tasks such as shutting off the alarm tone on your smart display or smart speaker. But it appears the feature is finally making its way to phones as well, thanks to a Google app update that adds a new Guacamole option. 

First spotted by the folks over at AndroidPolice,  the updated version of the Google app adds a Guacomole option in the Assistant settings section. Tapping on it takes you to the next page where it is called Voice Shortcuts. ‘Skip saying “Hey Google” for help with quick tasks’ is how the app defines the feature, which is pretty self-explanatory in itself. So, what tasks can you perform without having to summon the Google Assistant?

guacamole google assistant screenshot

As per a 9to5Google report, the Guacamole trick will let you silence an alarm by saying ‘snooze or stop’ and shush a timer. Moreover, you will be able to handle a call by just saying ‘answer the call’ or ‘reject the call’ among other relevant commands. Google is reportedly testing this capability internally on mobile, and it appears to have been inadvertently enabled widely for more users. However, the linked page (go/assistant-guacamole) returns an error when I try to access it.

I am running v12.15.929 of the Google app and can see the Guacamole toggle in the settings section. However, enabling it doesn’t appear to do the magic it is supposed to perform. And by that, I mean the way it does for devices like the Nest Hub. I tried to make it work, but didn’t find any luck. It appears that Google plans to share more details about it at the next I/O conference that kicks off on May 18 as a free digital event.

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New Google Assistant features include finding a lost iPhone

Google is rolling out five new features to its Google Assistant. It has announced new automation and web features coming to its voice assistant. One of the most prominent features of the new update is the ability to find a lost iPhone. For reference, the feature has long been available on Android that uses the Google Assistant to trigger a sound for their smartphone if it gets lost. The same ability is now being added for iPhones. It is much like Apple’s Find My feature.

This new feature will enable smart-home users who have a Google Assistant-enabled smart speaker and the accompanying Google Home app for iOS find a misplaced device. You can trigger the alert by asking “Hey Google, find my phone” through a Google smart home device. Then, the Google Home app will send an iOS critical alert on the ‌iPhone‌. You’ll get a notification and hear a custom ringing sound. This would work even when the phone is on silent or if Do Not Disturb is enabled.

To make online food orders even easier, Assistant can now help you complete your purchase in only a few steps. You need to first search for a restaurant near you from the Google App on Android and select “Order Online” or “Order Pickup.”  Once online takeout is finished, Google Assistant will automatically navigate the site and fill out your contact and payment details saved in Google Pay and synced to Chrome Autofill. As of now the company is partnering with select restaurant chains and will be adding more across the U.S. later this year.

Google is adding more Routine features. For instance, you can automatically have your living room lights turn on and the sprinklers start when the sun goes down. Furthermore, it allows you to perform multiple actions at once with a single command.

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Smart Speakers could bring contactless health monitoring by detecting abnormal heart rhythms

According to a new research done by University of Washington, ordinary smart speakers could be used as a contactless way to screen for irregular heartbeats. The researchers came up with an AI-powered system. It relies on sonar technology to pick up vibrations caused by nearby chest wall movements. It it ever comes to existence, it has the potential to change how doctors conduct telemedicine appointments by providing data that would otherwise require wearables, health hardware or an in-person checkup.

“We have Google and Alexa in our homes all around us. We predominantly use them to wake us up in the morning or play music,” said Shyam Gollakota, a UW computer science professor and co-author of the report. “The question we’ve been asking is, can we use the smart speaker for something more useful.” Smartphone makers could integrate the technology into existing products via software updates, researchers say.

As per the researchers, their goal was to find a way to use devices that people already have to edge cardiology and health monitoring into the future. This system has a mounted chest wall. If you want a reading, you will have to sit within two feet of the speaker for it to work.

It works by emitting audio signals into the room at a volume humans can’t hear. The pulses bounce back to the speaker, and an algorithm works to identify beating patterns generated from a human’s chest wall. Another algorithm is then applied to determine the amount of time between two heartbeats. These inter-beat intervals could allow doctors to gauge how well your heart is functioning.

This data was compared to results from medical-grade ECG monitors. Surprisingly, the smart speakers’ readings turned out to be relatively accurate, only deviating from the ECG readings by an amount that “wasn’t medically relevant,” the researchers say. The test was done on a developer version of Alexa with a low-quality speaker to run their tests. Hence, speakers in mainstream devices could be more powerful, which could enable readings from farther away.

Via: The Washington Post

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Apple, Google training their voice assistants to understand people with speech disabilities

According to National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, approximately 7.5 million people in the U.S. have trouble using their voices. This group is at the risk of being left behind by voice-recognition technology. But we are in 2021 – the era to make technology more accessible to everyone. And, tech firms, including Apple and Google are working on improving their voice assistants to understand atypical speech. They are now trying to train voice assistants to understand everyone.

“For someone who has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair, being able to control their environment with their voice could be super useful to them,” said Ms. Cattiau. Google is collecting atypical speech data as part of an initiative to train its voice-recognition tools. Training the voice assistants like Siri and Google Assistant could improve the voice-recognition experience for a number of groups including senior with degenerative diseases.

Apple is working to help Siri automatically detect if someone speaks with a stutter

Apple debuted its Hold to Talk feature on hand-held devices in 2015. It gives users control over how long they want the voice assistant Siri to listen to them. The feature prevents the assistant from interrupting users that have a stutter before they have finished speaking. Now, Apple is working to help Siri automatically detect if someone speaks with a stutter. The company has built a bank of 28,000 audio clips from podcasts featuring stuttering to help its assistant recognize atypical speech.

Google’s Project Euphoria is the company’s initiative where it is testing a prototype app that lets people with atypical speech communicate with Google Assistant and smart Google Home products. It aims to train the software to understand unique speech patterns. The company hopes that these snippets will help train its artificial intelligence in the full spectrum of speech.

Amazon isn’t far off with its Alexa voice assistant. The company announced Alexa integration with Voiceitt, which lets people with speech impairments train an algorithm to recognize their own unique vocal patterns.

Source: WSJ

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Pocketnow Daily: Dear Intel: Apple Was Just Getting Started! *NEW Apple Silicon Leaks* (video)

Apple’s M1 MacBook Pro, Samsung Galaxy S10+ and more devices are on sale today

Let’s kick the week off with some pretty familiar deals, that are still awesome if we’re being honest. The new M1 MacBook Pro is still $50 off, leaving the entry level, Silver option for $1250 shipped. That’s actually the color I use and which I recommend most given how it ages. You can also get the discount if you go for the 512GB of SSD variant, leaving that for $1450. The 16in MacBook Pro is also $200 off, that leaves the 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD model for $2200 shipped. And okay, let’s move on to your favorite Samsung trade-in deals because I find it crazy that they’re still available. Starting off with the Note 20 Series, where you can find the Note 20 for $450 and the Ultra for $750. The S20 Series is also on discount, and you can get my favorite, the S20+ for $740 or the Ultra for $940. Finally, the Z Fold 2 is still at a $1000 which I find to be the better deal along with the Note. Again, for all of these you need an eligible device for trade-in but, they’re still pretty crazy. Finally, the Apple Watch SE is $20 off, leaving it at $309 shipped. We have more deals on other Samsung products like the S10 and the Buds, other Apple Watches and more in the links below.

 

Google Assistant-enabled smart displays and speakers can now stream Apple Music

Now let’s talk about the recent moves that Apple Music has just made. I mean, Apple One was interesting enough for me to be willing to pay for it, but it seems that now Apple might have added a nail to its HomePod coffin. Last week, Apple Music rolled out support to Amazon’s A Speakers and now, Apple Music it’s making its way to Google Assistant enabled smart devices. Starting today, you can ask Google to play Apple Music on your Nest devices, that includes the Nest Audio, Hub Max and others. Now, the service is rolling out in the US, UK, Japan, Germany and France as of today but they are planning for support in other regions as well. Of course, you’ll have to pair your account with your Google account and then you should be good to go. And yes, I do agree that it’s not like if the HomePod Mini doesn’t have advantages, like Privacy which we still haven’t been able to confirm, and also sound quality, but at its price, I’m even debating paying for Spotify anymore.

LG’s rollable phone could soon be a reality

Now, let’s talk about LG’s Project Explorer as, the company has done a great job putting themselves back in the spotlight thanks to devices like the Wing. We know that the Wing was just the first phone that was a part of this project, with the next one reportedly being that rollable phone dubbed the “LG Slide”. According to a tipster on Twitter, the LG Slide was just spotted in South Korea’s carrier intranet database. This revealed the carrier and unlocked model number, hinting to the fact that we’re getting close to the actual launch. Going from what we’ve heard from past reports, this phone is expected to bring a rollable OLED display which extends to give you a bigger canvas, and other trademarks hint that we might get stylus support. We’re expecting this to launch sometime in 2021, with multiple reports claiming that it is coming in March so we’ll see. Let’s just hope they add a flagship processor to match the flagship price this time.

We have leaked details of the upcoming OPPO Find X3 Pro

Let’s move on to OPPO as, we’re expecting the company to launch three different phones in Q1 of next year according to nonother than Evan Blass. He claims that the most important one will be the Find X3 Pro which is codenamed Fussi. This phone will bring the new Snapdragon 888 SoC and OPPO plans to market it with something along the lines of “Awaken Color”. This is because one of the main, if not the main feature will be the new display which is a 6.7in 1440p display with a 525ppi. It also has end-to-end 10-bit color support along with an adaptive-dynamic frame rate, from 10-120Hz, kind of like the Note 20 Ultra. Now, when it comes to the cameras, apparently we’ll be getting two 50MP image sensors from Sony, one for the primary and one for the ultra wide, as well as a 13MP telephoto and a 3MP macro camera.. Yay. It will be capable of 25x zoom which will also be a key point for OPPO,. Evan also mentions that when it comes to design, it will be 8mm thick and 190 grams, and it will bring a ceramic matte-frosted glass at the back in black and blue color ways at launch. Other specs also include a 4500 mAh battery and 65W charging. Again, OPPO should announce these in Q1 of 2020, but they will most likely release until Q2.

Apple is keen on periscope cameras, but they might not appear on iPhones until 2023

Now let’s talk Apple and camera capabilities for iPhones, as even if the 12 Pro Max is great, it’s not really that much better than everything else out there. So far we’ve had two different reports claiming that we’ll be getting a periscope lens on iPhones and now, this third one makes it look like it’s actually going to happen. This report comes from the Elec and it reiterates that Cupertino is looking to improve their zoom features by using SEMCO periscope lenses that could offer up to 10x optical zoom but, it gives somewhat of a larger timeline, suggesting it could be either in 2022 or 2023. Just to recap, Apple has been patenting solutions for periscopic zoom lens since 2014 but, the company has never actually put one on the iPhone. Now that they’ve been able to do away with the patent issues that held them back, it looks like they’re getting ready. Last week we talked about how they are already in talks with suppliers, with SEMCO and LG probably supplying these modules. And we’re going to go with Ming Chi Kuo’s timeline which claims that we’ll be getting these with the 2022 iPhones.

Story of the day:

Ambitious Apple prepares a 32-core chip for high-end Macs

And finally the hottest news today have to do with Apple Silicon Macs, because if you thought the M1 was great, Apple is clearly not even close to being done. So far, we’ve got three devices running on the M1 processor which is already pretty powerful but, we assume it’s also the source for certain limitations, like only having two USB C ports, and it looks like Apple wants to go ALL OUT with their upcoming releases. According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple is making a series of new Mac processors that is aimed at outperforming Intel’s best. The report claims that the next two series of Apple chips will be more ambitious than expected, with more CPU cores and even more GPU cores. So alright, the M1 comes with an 8 core CPU and either 7 or 8 core GPUs. Well this report claims that Cupertino is currently testing 16 and 32-core models. But wait there’s more, they’re also working on chips with up to 128 cores for either late 2021 or 2022. Currently they are working on a processor design with 16 high performance CPU cores which might make it to the upcoming MacBook Pros we’re expecting. So if you think about it, we’re expecting new MacBook Pros, new iMacs and possibly a new Mac Pro that could be half the size of the current one. And with this report saying that if Apple delivers they will significantly outpace the latest Intel chips, these new computers should be on a whole different league when compared to Intel’s Xeon or AMDs Threadrippers.

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Google Assistant-enabled smart displays and speakers can now stream Apple Music

At long last, Apple Music has finally arrived on Google Assistant-enabled smart devices. After a long spell of allowing major services such as Spotify and YouTube Music with the key exception being Apple’s service, Google Assistant-enabled smart speakers and displays can finally stream songs over Apple Music. And yes, you can set the Apple-owned service as your default choice of music streaming platform.

“Starting today, Apple Music is rolling out to Google Assistant-enabled devices like Nest Audio, Nest Hub Max, Nest Mini, and more. Apple Music subscribers can search and play songs (more than 70 million!), albums and playlists—all ad-free—just by using their voice,” the company said in a blog post.

Apple Music support rolls out starting today

Support for music streaming via Apple Music is first rolling out on Google Assistant-driven smart display and speakers in France, Germany, Japan, UK and the US markets starting today. Google has, however, not revealed its plans regarding the availability of Apple Music support for Google Assistant-enabled smart devices in more regions.

In order to play songs from Apple Music on your smart speaker with Google Assistant onboard, you have to open the Google Home app installed on your phone and link the Apple Music account to access your library. Once you’ve linked the Apple Music account in the app, you’re just a voice command away from streaming music via Apple’s very own music streaming platform.

Aside from asking the Google Assistant to play a song via voice commands, you can also summon the AI assistant to play a particular playlist or songs you’ve liked. Plus, you can also direct the virtual assistant to play songs of a particular genre by simply asking it to do so. In addition to voice commands, users also have the option to switch Apple Music playback from one smart device to another, or you can choose to stream your favorite song on all connected smart home speakers and displays in your home simultaneously.

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Google finally brings multi-account support and dark mode to smart displays

Google has today introduced a slew of new features for Google Assistant-powered smart displays. The most notable change coming to smart displays is the support for multiple accounts, at last. As the name suggests, you can now add multiple Google accounts (work or personal) and get calendar as well as meeting updates on the same device. For example, asking the Google Assistant to join the next meeting will automatically search for the impending event across all Google account calendars and will accordingly start the video call. Of course, your smart display must have a front camera to start a video call. 

The second notable feature coming to Google Assistant-powered smart displays will appeal to folks who live by the digital motto of “dark theme everything.” Yes, dark theme has finally arrived on smart displays. As usual, you can also choose to automatically turn the dark theme on/off depending on the time of the day or ambient lighting. 

Notably, a “Home Control” page has also arrived that will let users control all connected smart home devices from a single hub. But that’s not all. Google has announced a few other helpful tweaks that smart display users will appreciate, some of which are mentioned below:

  • new “Your morning” page that brings details such as reminders for upcoming meetings, weather information, and a collection of the latest news. Similar “Your afternoon” and “Your evening” pages will also keep you updated with fresh information. The latter will also play a range of soothing sounds to help users fall asleep.
  • Google Assistant-driven smart displays are also getting a “Media” page that offers content recommendations across platforms such as YouTube TV, Spotify, and Netflix.
  • To quickly start a video call, a “Communicate” page will also be available on smart displays. There is also a “Discover” section that will introduce users to the capabilities of their smart display. 
  • Another useful feature that is arriving soon is support for automatic picture framing. If you’re moving during a video call, the camera will automatically frame the view to keep you in the center. Google Meet has also received a few UI tweaks as well.
  • A new “sunrise alarm” feature is also coming to smart displays, and it will gradually increase the screen brightness until the alarm goes off. And instead of using the “Hey Google” hotword, users can just yell “stop” to pause the alarm sound.

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Google’s Your News Update audio briefing arrives on Google Podcasts

Google introduced a new Google Assistant feature called “Your News Update” last year that allowed the virtual assistant to read a personalized playlist of audio news based on user’s interests and preferences. The audio news briefing is now coming to the Google Podcasts app, where it will be accessible under the same name – Your News Update – from within the Explore tab.

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All you have to do is open the Google Podcasts app, go to the Explore section and hit the subscribe button adjacent the Your News Update card. Once done, hit the Play All button to listen to short audio clips of news stories curated on the basis of users’ taste, location, history and interest. To create a playlist, Google says it applies “machine learning techniques to understand how the people, places and things in this story link together and relate to a particular person’s interests.”

Additionally, Google is also making it easier to listen to relevant or important local news stories via the Google Assistant. All you have to do utter a voice command such as “Hey Google, play news about New York” and it will oblige with a natural-sounding reading of news stories.

Source: Google Blog

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Too tired to type? Use the Google Assistant to send an audio message

Google is expanding its Assistant’s functionalities. The virtual assistant now allows you to send audio messages to your contacts. The company announced its new feature in a blog post. It will come in handy when you are too occupied to type or hold the phone. You can now use the Assistant to dictate a message.

Google says voice-messaging is the easiest way to send a quick note to friends and family. The feature will be rolled out in English-speaking countries around the globe, as well as in Portuguese in Brazil. All you need to do is say, “Hey Google, send an audio message” or “Hey Google, send an audio message to Paul saying I’m on the way.”

Source: Google Blog

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