Google Assistant could remind you to turn off your alarm for July 4
Google has always wanted to position itsGoogle Assistantas more than just a powerful voice interaction tool, instead making it a more proactive tool much like Google Now of old was. But afterdiscontinuing Google Assistant Snapshot, much of this functionality was lost. It looks like the company is exploring another route instead, moving some of these smarts right into your notification shade. Ahead of Canada Day on July 1, a user received a notification from Assistant asking them if they want to tweak their alarm for the holiday. This might just be something that Google is bringing to some in the US for July 4, too.
The notification was spotted by aRedditor on r/Android(via9to5Google), and it’s pretty straightforward. The Assistant notification told them that “Tomorrow is Canada Day,” along with a call to action to “Tap to change your 9:30 alarm.” The notification then took them to the alarm tab, making clear that the feature isn’t quite as smart as it could be just yet. The menu just showed them the standard alarm options, with no way to disable or tweak the alarm for this one special day only. Still, the reminder was probably much appreciated by the folks over in Canada, and it could just make it easier for people in the US to get a good amount of sleep on that extra weekend day on July 4.
Google is constantly looking to improve the Assistant, but at the moment, it looks like it is going on a bit of a diet. The company did not only remove the Assistant Snapshot from phones, it also recently got rid of the smart assistant’s location-based and assigned reminders. Google additionally shut down the Conversational Actions that developers could use to tie in the Assistant into their applications and services, though at least the company replaced this option with App Actions for Android for the most part.
While Google announced that it was bringingthis intelligent alarm featureto phones in March, it is still unclear how widely it has rolled out — especially given that it was supposed to be an exclusivePixel 6feature coming to the At a Glance widget rather than your notifications. If you’re based in the US, you can probably try your luck on Sunday, July 3.
The note-taking app I should have used all along
Broader branding hints at wider paid-tier ambitions
All for better imaging
Strong alternatives to aging competitors
Google is still searching for answers
PlayStation Plus subscribers of all tiers are getting access to three excellent titles, including Psychonauts 2, in September
