New Google Assistant is insanely powerful, but can't be used
What's the story
The next-generation of Google Assistant, announced at I/O 2019, will be more intuitive, faster, and reliable than ever. However, unlike Android Q (Beta 3), which is now available for 21 devices, the all-new Assistant is not accessible just yet. In fact, as per the company, it will debut on the next flagship Pixel phone, presumably the Pixel 4. Here's all about it.
On device
New Assistant will be incredibly fast, will work without internet
Google is revamping its Assistant to make it faster and more reliable than ever. The tech giant has compressed around 100GB of server data to a file size of around 1GB that will be stored on the device. Hence, the Assistant will process commands on-device, meaning latency will be reduced to almost zero, and commands would be responded even without an Internet connection.
All about you
Google Assistant will understand Personal References
Google is improving its digital assistant to understand Personal References better. Things like relatives, workplaces, businesses or even temporary information like the hotel you're staying in, will be handled more intuitively. Personal References will also serve as shortcuts to all your data across Google products like Maps and Photos. So, you can ask directions to mom's house, or for pictures from friend's birthday party.
Privacy
Users will be able to delete their Personal References
Google has said that users will be able to manage their Personal References and delete them at any time, or simply not use the feature if they have data privacy concerns. However, Austin Chang, Director, Product Manager for Google Assistant, has confirmed that if a user creates a Personal Reference with someone, Google will not misuse that information.
Support
Which devices will support the next-generation Assistant?
The all-new Google Assistant will debut on the Pixel 4 flagships, followed by the existing Pixel 3 range. Currently, we don't know the exact hardware requirements to run the upgraded Assistant. Hence, it remains unclear if the mid-level Pixel 3a series or old Pixel phones will also get the feature, or which third-party manufacturers will get support for the improved Assistant.