Google Assistant

One of Samsung Bixby’s promises was the ability to control almost every aspect of your phone with voice alone. It didn’t take long for LG to offer those same capabilities in the LG G7 ThinQ but, thankfully, it didn’t reinvent the wheel and teamed up with Google instead to perform those commands through Google Assistant. Now Sony is revealing that it had struck the same partnership and has a few special Google Assistant commands that you’ll only be able to use if you own an Xperia XZ3.

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Roku's video streamers are about to get a whole lot smarter, with Roku OS 9 previewed along with Google Assistant integration and new support for streaming music services. The big update isn't quite ready for release - instead, Roku is pushing out Roku OS 8.2 for Roku TVs, complete with support for the recently-announced Roku TV Wireless Speakers, among other things - but it already sounds like it's worth waiting for.

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The Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL have an accessory coming out on release day - or so we're lead to believe by several leaks. This accessory goes by the name Pixel Stand, and it works together with a new Google Assistant interface. This new UI and new stand will likely be revealed on October 9th, 2018, alongside the Google Pixel 3 and Google Pixel 3 XL.

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The Google Pixel 3 event on October 9th will likely bring a new Google Home Hub smart screen as well. Today a leak revealed the new device, "Google Home Hub," complete with a touchscreen and Google Assistant interface. This device will apparently allow the user to "see your life in one view, and get things done hands-free." The description of the device suggests that you'll be able to "make the most of moments at home."

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If you use a smart speaker or a personal assistant like Alexa on your smartphone, there's a good chance you're using it to stream music and check the weather. Such a conclusion comes from a newly published study by Adobe Analytics, which found that among US users, the majority ask voice assistants to stream music or retrieve the forecast.

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The Google Assistant is going multilingual, with the ability to recognize and then reply to more than one language at a time, alongside a host of new smart home features. Announced at IFA 2018, the new language feature means smart speakers like the Google Home and Google Home Mini will be able to differentiate automatically between two languages, and respond in the same.

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Sony has a new Bluetooth speaker, and the splashproof SRS-XB501G doesn't just deliver lashings of bass indoors and out, it takes the Google Assistant with it too. Unveiled at IFA 2018 today, the new speaker slots into Sony's EXTRA BASS range, and so as you might expect there's a big emphasis on the low-end.

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The battle of the noise-cancelling headphones continues, with the new Sony WH-1000XM3 cans taking on Bose's finest. Following the well-received 1000X Mk II, these Sony 1000X Mk III headphones promise to build on the background noise-muting capabilities while also improving on comfort and musical performance.

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As houses become increasingly smarter, so too does the temptation to break into them increase. And we’re not talking about some hi-tech hacking of IoT products. Just plain old breaking and entering will do. It would be almost too ironic if your newly set up smart home wasn’t smart at protecting you. That’s why Google is now announcing a new set of integrations that can help homeowners monitor and control their house’s security, even and especially when they’re far away.

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Amazon Alexa lives inside the newest Bose speaker, a Bose Smart Speaker, made to sit on your counter-top. The first of several machines was made to deliver "the acoustic excellence and superior design Bose is known for - all hands free." It'll do so as it serves up Amazon's own products as quick as possible. This is the Home Speaker 500, and it's made to do battle with Apple's HomePod and the Google Home Smart Speaker right out the gate.

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Now owned by Samsung, you might expect Harman Kardon to be pushing Samsung’s Bixby into its nascent smart speaker line. The irony of the situation is that, aside from Siri, Harman Kardon now has speakers supporting each of the major smart assistants except Bixby. The latest to join that small group is the Citation 500 that set itself apart from the brood by not only using Google Assistant but also having a surprisingly high price tag.

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The LG V40 ThinQ is one step closer to reality with a leak of the rendering kind. This leak comes from the user known as OnLeaks, a notoriously accurate renderer of CAD files. These files come to case-makers and accessory makers in the weeks before the launch of a smartphone, and are ocassionally acquired by people like OnLeaks in the process. What you see is a set of renderings made using those CAD plans.

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