Using voice commands on smartphones has become decidedly simpler than in the past, also thanks to the constant development made by the main multinationals in this sense: more and more devices can be controlled with just the use of voice, so you can search or open apps or programs without having to use your hands (perhaps engaged in other activities such as work, driving a car or cooking). If we are new to the world of smartphones and do not know how to activate Google's voice commands (among the simplest and most immediate to use, even in Italian), in this guide we will show you how to activate "OK Google" on any smartphone, be it an Android device or an Apple device (iPhone or iPad).
We will thus be able to significantly improve the use of the smartphone, using only our voice.
READ ALSO -> 10 things to say by voice to your Android smartphone to use it without hands
1) How to activate "OK Google" on Android devices
On Android the app needed for voice commands should already be installed by default on the device, so it is better to check the app menu to see if we find "Google" among those available.
If we can't find the app or our smartphone doesn't have it, we can download the updated version of the Google app (which also includes voice commands) from here -> Google App (Android).
Let's just remember that the voice commands are only compatible with Android operating systems with version equal to or greater than 4.4 (Android 4.4 Kitkat), so if you have an older smartphone it is the right time to change it.
To activate Ok Google on Android, open the Google app, open it, then go to the menu at the bottom right (in the shape of three horizontal lines) and click on Settings .
Among the various menus available, click on Voice and activate the Voice output voice, then go to the Voice Match menu to be able to configure the voice command OK Google.
In this screen we activate the voices Say "Ok Google" at any time in order to enable voice commands on any screen or on any app; if we want the smartphone screen to be turned on and unlocked with the voice command "Ok Google" we also activate the voice Unblock with Voice Match .
The voice commands of the Google Assistant work even more precisely if we record our personalized voice timbre (only we can use it); to achieve this we tap on the Set voice model item and follow the procedure to record our voice.
Note: enabling the "Ok Google" voice commands on each screen or to unlock the device will require that the smartphone's microphone is always on, so that you can pick up every voice (not only when we use the command).
Note 2: voice commands Ok Google are recorded by Google and kept in a history of voice commands visible only to us.
2) How to activate "OK Google" on Apple devices
On iPhone and iPad we can use the default Siri commands, for many the best voice assistant service currently created by man.
If we don't want to use Google's voice commands we can activate Siri with voice commands by going to the Settings menu -> Siri and Search and activating the items Enable "Hey Siri" and Use Siri when blocked .
These voices are also very useful to disable Siri, if we were not satisfied with this service and instead want to use Google's voice commands instead.
Once Siri is deactivated (it is not mandatory, the two voice assistance systems can also work together) we must install the Google app on our iPhone or iPad; the link for downloading the app is available here -> Google App (iOS).
Once the app is installed on our iPhone or iPad, we log in with our Google account and, once the app is open, click on the symbol of our account in the upper left corner; in the menu that will open we click on Voice Search .
In the menu that opens, all we have to do is activate the Hotword item "Ok Google" .
From now on in every screen or app of the iPhone we will be able to pronounce the keyword "Ok Google" to call the Google Assistant and ask them for information or actions to be carried out only by voice.
As for the Android version (and as for Siri), the voice commands leave the microphone of the iPhone and iPad turned on, so that you can always hear when we say the command.
3) The main voice commands to use
The Google Assistant has taken the place of the old Google Now and is now able to interact more with the user, as if it were a real artificial intelligence.
We can ask practically anything from the assistant, but in particular we recommend that you immediately try the following voice commands to gain confidence:
- Weather : definitely one of the most useful features! We can ask for the weather for the location where we are, for a specific city or place or ask very specific questions such as "it will rain the whole day"> - Traffic : the voice assistant is able to tell us the situation of road traffic through Google Maps, both for the road we are traveling on and for any road that interests us.
In the settings it is possible to configure the home and office addresses so as to have them stored and to be able to obtain the information of the journey from home to work at any time.
- Appointments: very useful if we work a lot for appointments; the assistant can take note of any appointment and make a meeting reminder, indicating all the necessary information (place, reminder alarm, appointment date, traffic flow).
- Flights: with Google's assistant we can find out all the available flights in the area or the time and route of a specific plane.
- Public transport : we can check timetables and other information on trains and buses when you are at a stop or station, so you can always take the right transport.
- Fun : the assistant is able to show the restaurants, cinemas, pubs and discos nearby.
- Sport : with Google's assistant we can receive the results of the matches and the rankings of the championships we are interested in, with lots of upcoming matches and dates.
- Warnings : we can also receive emergency messages for dangerous and catastrophic hurricanes and earthquakes.
- Movies : if we absolutely want to find out the time and schedule of the cinemas for a given film, we can ask our assistant.
Obviously there are many other voice commands that we can use: shares of the securities on the stock exchange, news, events, birthdays (based on the Google address book) and much more, just read the guide available below.
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