14 DAY TRIAL // Google recently announced that devices running Marshmallow and Nougat would be receiving Google Assistant. The rollout has already begun and Google decided to include an exciting and very useful new feature, the Assistant’s ability to read and interact with text messages.
Google Assistant has already started rolling out to numerous smartphones, including the Moto Z Force Droid and even OnePlus 3. Google has reportedly added the ability to read and interact with SMS text messages, according to a new report.
Users will be given the option for Google Assistant to read their messages, which can be prompted in a variety of ways, including by saying “Show me my messages” or “Do I have any messages?”. Google Assistant would then open a messages interface and display all messages that users have received.
The virtual assistant can discern between new and old messages, and can even be prompted to reveal only the last message.
The new feature can be used with Android Messages
Google Assistant has received the ability to display all messages, but it cannot differentiate between read or unread messages in Android Messages. By default, the assistant speaks the sender’s name and can ask the user whether they wish to hear the message or skip to the next one.
Users also have the option to reply to messages, have them repeated or move on to the next one in the list. However, Assistant still doesn’t have the ability to read notifications. Google Assistant uses the default SMS service, which means that it works with Hangouts and even Facebook Messenger, since the latter comes with SMS integration.
This new feature is currently available on some Pixel phones running the 6.14 beta version of Google app, but it should arrive to other phones as well. Google Assistant has started rolling out to a number of phones and it is said to arrive to Apple’s iPhone too.