Google Assistant has received a body of new activities available in the system. More than 30 new features have been incorporated into the interface of the smart personal voice assistant. Interesting things like a beer guide, a slang dictionary, and a baby activity monitor are available for users.
Google Assistant got 118 different skills available since its release last year. In comparison with other smart assistants like Alexa, the Alphabet system is quite behind, as Alexa has over 100,000 skills available thanks to the number of partnerships with third party developers.
However, this comparison should not be that surprising, since Alexa had only 100 skills one year ago and had expanded considerably in the last ten months. Experts say that Google Assistant will achieve that number this year, and the latest updates are a prove of that.
Two of the most remarkable additions to the Google Assistant service are Baby Stats and Life Stories. The first one allows the user to keep a record of what their baby is eating, how much sleep is getting or how many times goes to the bathroom.
This launch comes in a moment when emerging wearable devices for kids are a trend, and parents are seeking ways to keep track of each step their babies take.
The Life Stories feature is based on the FML concept, which is a website where people can go and describe their personal miseries online with random users.
Misfortune and failures are the main topics in these stories and users can now use Google Assistant to be aware of random people’s worst problems.
Google Assistant now can read your text messages out loud
The smart voice assistant can now read SMS, Facebook Messenger and Hangouts messages for the user. The owner only has to say “Do I have any messages?” or “Show me my last message” and the system automatically will read the message in case there is one.
This feature is available in Google Pixel phones and other Android devices, as the smart assistant was made to function with Marshmallow or Nougat operating systems.
To have the service, users with Marshmallow or Nougat must update the Google application in their smartphones to the 6.13 version and have 720p or higher resolution, and at least 1.5 GB of free memory.
Amazon’s Alexa along with the Google Assistant can send written messages through apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Hangouts and other chat systems.
Both Google and Amazon are competing regarding for the expansion of their smart assistant abilities and are including these exciting features as soon as possible to win the race.
According to a report published by the Wall Street Journal, Amazon and Google are starting to develop a feature that makes possible for their smart speakers to perform voice phone calls.
“Alexa plans to release one or multiple Echo-like devices with Alexa inside that are able to make phone calls or act as an intercom system,” the specialized site VentureBeat reported this Thursday.
Source: Venture Beat