What can Google Assistant do? The best commands and actions

sketchy · 发表于 2019-06-22 14:40:47

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[br][br][br]From smart-home devices to phones and Sonos speaker control, here’s our pick of the best Google Assistant actions to try right now.[br] [br][br]Google / WIRED[br]Google’s version of Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana is Google Assistant. The digital assistant is native to Google Home smart speakers, but it is also compatible with those from Sony, LG, Panasonic and very soon Sonos. The digital assistant really knows who you are and what you search for since it is built into your Android phone’s operating system.[br][br]Alexa may still be able to perform more tasks than Google Assistant’s actions, but a recent test found Google Assistant was able to answer 88 per cent of the questions correctly, compared to Siri at 75 per cent. Alexa and Cortana came third and fourth respectively.[br][br]Of all the functions from Google and third-party options, we have picked some of the best actions and voice commands you should try out with Google Assistant.[br][br]Living in a bilingual household?[br]Google Assistant allows you to switch between two languages; it will recognise and answer in the same language you’re speaking. So far, the feature works with the following 12 languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Korean, Japanese and Hindi.[br][br]To add a second language, open the settings on the Google Home app and click through to Languages. The assistant can recognise either of the two chosen languages, as long as they are not mixed. For example, “Hey Google, set the oven for dreissig minuten” does not work.[br][br]Stream music from your favourite service.[br]Need to know the name of a song? Just ask Google to identify it. On your phone or smart display, you will see the lyrics, release date and artist information. If you are not subscribed to Google Play Music, you can still play music through Spotify, Youtube or other streaming and radio services.[br][br]Next month, Google Assistant will finally be rolled out to the Sonos One and Beam speakers. Once you’ve downloaded the software update, you will also be able to control the entire home setup from your Sonor speakers.[br][br]It could save your life.[br]Researchers from the University of Washington have created a prototype system that can listen in and detect the characteristic gasping breaths of a person suffering a cardiac arrest. The team collected sounds of agonal breathing from real emergency calls and trained their tool to accurately recognise them using machine learning.[br][br]The system could soon be built into Google Home, Amazon’s Echo and other smart speakers and raise an alert for you. In the meantime, you can already ask Google Assistant to call 999 if necessary.[br][br]It’s storytelling time[br]The new Read Along feature brings a story to life with sound effects and music as you read one of Disney’s Little Golden Books with your children.[br][br]It currently works with 15 titles, including favourites like Moana, Frozen and Lion King. The assistant will even recognise if you skip ahead in the book and adjust to match the story. During breaks, it will play ambient music until you start reading again. If you don’t have a book with you, just ask Google to tell you a story – it’s possible to ask for specific titles or themes such as Christmas.[br][br]While we’re on the Christmas theme, say “Okay Google, call Santa” and the assistant will open up a direct line to the North Pole (this feature is seasonal, naturally).[br][br]Plan a holiday.[br]Google Assistant can serve as a virtual travel planner: you can ask for vacation ideas, or how much a last-minute flight to Buenos Aires or Havana costs. Finding it difficult to decide between two destinations? Leave it up to 50/50 chance and ask the assistant to flip a coin. The command “Hey Google, heads or tails?” works also.[br][br]Once the flights are booked, you can start practising Spanish. For instance, say “Hey Google, be my Spanish interpreter” and, on a smart display, the assistant will show and read the translated text of the words you speak in real-time. The interpreter mode might also come in handy when you’re on holidays and need help checking into a hotel or ordering food in a restaurant.[br][br]Get sports information[br]Hear the score for a game or your favourite team’s ranking in the league. Google Assistant recognises various voice commands for football, basketball, cricket, baseball or hockey. It is also possible to ask how a certain player of a team is doing or for general facts about sports such as when volleyball was invented. There are also various third-party actions like racing results or a cricket quiz.[br][br]Remember things.[br]If you’re prone to misplacing important documents and items or keep forgetting your Wi-Fi password, just ask the assistant to remember where you put them or what it is. For instance, you may have given your spare keys to Ben, or left the car in section B, spot 32 of the car park. You can also use voice commands to remember when you last did something, such as watering a plant.[br][br]The simpler your commands are phrased, the easier it will be to recall them when you need to. If you forgot how you originally phrased them, just say “Hey Google, what did I tell you to remember?” to recall everything.[br][br]Take notes[br]Google Keep is great, but you prefer to keep track of your to-dos and lists in Trello, Wunderlist or Microsoft’s OneNote. Trello is a popular productivity app, particularly with teams that want a simple tool to manage projects or tasks and set deadlines. IFTTT’s (If This Then That) free step-by-step guide will help you create an applet – a workflow that will connect Google Assistant voice commands with Trello – to add new Trello cards to your team’s or personal boards. It is also possible to show Trello cards that are assigned to you in Google calendar.[br][br]No need to unlock your phone[br]After opting in through your settings, the assistant can respond to you even when your Android phone is locked. You may then use voice commands to set up and dismiss alarms, make calls, or read messages and calendar updates.[br][br]The assistant can also help you get around your phone: find photos of you on the beach, open one of your installed apps, or change your phone’s settings – such as turning on Wi-Fi or decreasing the brightness.[br][br]Discover more actions[br]You can ask the assistant what it can do or open the app to see a long list of third-party apps Google has partnered with. These are grouped into themes such as business & finance, smart home or productivity. For each app, you will see the specified command that the assistant can recognise. It’s also possible to connect to Google Assistant to unsupported apps and websites: IFTTT’s guides explain how to programme custom voice commands.[br]