Google Assistant’s ‘Hey Google’ hotword now rolling out to more users

Google Assistant’s ‘Hey Google’ hotword now available on more Android smartphones

Google Assistant’s ‘Hey Google’ hotword is now available on a number of Android smartphones. The search giant began testing the feature in October, but it was limited to a handful of people. According to a report from Android Police (via Reddit), the command is seeing a widespread rollout now. The devices that have received the update include the Moto G5S and Moto GS5 Plus, Nexus 5X, OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T, as well as the Galaxy S6, S7 and S7 edge.

Till now, users could only say “OK Google” for launching the Assistant, but now some users have reportedly started receiving notifications which prompts them to re-train Google Assistant’s voice model with a new hotword. Tapping the notifications starts the training process to teach the Assistant to recognise the voice. After retraining, Google Assistant will recognise both “Ok Google” and “Hey Google”.Those users who have not received the notifications can go to the Assistant’s settings to retrain the voice model.

Meanwhile, Google is bringing the Assistant to as many as devices.  Google Assistant has been available on a number of new smartphones. However, the voice-based virtual assistant is making its way to smartphones running Android 5.0 Lollipop and tablets running Android 7.0 Nougat and 6.0 Marshmallow. Not just that, the software giant is on the mission to make the Assistant available on feature phones as well. At the recently held event in Delhi, Google announced that the JioPhone is getting the Assistant. This marks the first time that Google Assistant is making its way to a feature phone, having previously been available on smartphones.