‘Happy emoji’: How Google Assistant is getting an upgrade with the Pixel 7

Google has officially launched its newest lineup of Pixel devices – the Google Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and Pixel Watch. In addition to the hardware, Google has announced improvements to its Assistant’s AI capabilities that will make using your voice to get tasks done on your devices a more seamless experience. 

Google Assistant launched six years ago and has since been used by more than 700 million people in over 95 countries every month. The Google Assistant is intended to be a reliable, conversational and natural helper to aid users with everyday tasks. 

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Google’s Assistant’s voice-typing feature lets you dictate your texts to your phone 2.5x faster than typing on the keyboard. It has been around for a year, but it will now be available in more languages: Spanish, Italian, and French. 

Voice typing has also become more fun with the addition of emojis. As you talk on your phone, your Assistant will now suggest relevant emojis you can use. You can also describe an emoji to your phone and it will insert it for you. For example: “happy emoji????”. 

Google quick phrases is a different voice feature that allows you to use your voice to quickly command your phone to do something without the need to say “Hey Google” first. On the Pixel 7, you can now say “Silence” if you want to ignore an incoming call. 

The Direct my Call feature is meant to save you from the headache of going through lengthy, pre-recorded menus. It’s never fun when you call your pharmacy intending to make a quick call and then have to go through 20 different steps to finally reach the operator.

With the Direct my Call feature, you will be able to see the call menu options right away, so that you can zoom through the options without having to sit there and listen to different options for what seems like an eternity. 

Another convenient feature is voice message transcription, which gives users a transcription of voice messages so that they don’t have to miss a voice message just because they can’t listen in at the moment.

Lastly, Glance on Pixel optimizes your Pixel 7 lockscreen, bringing proactive intelligence to your screen, so that you can plan accordingly. For example, Glance can give you weather alerts letting you know of upcoming ominous weather. It can also show you a video feed preview from your Nest doorbell when a package arrives.

The Assistant’s convenience isn’t limited to your Pixel 7; you can also use it on your Pixel Watch, Pixel Buds, and even the Pixel Tablet when it releases next year.