14 DAY TRIAL // Google announced Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones in fall last year and they were the first two devices to feature Google Assistant. The AI virtual assistant works on Pixel smartphones and a number of other products from Google.
Google is believed to bring Google Assistant on other smartphones too and it seems that there’s a way to already enable it even if you don’t have a Pixel smartphone. Android Police found that you can enable Google Assistant on a Nexus 6P smartphone, but you probably shouldn’t rush to do so.
Google Assistant on non-Pixel smartphones can be enabled in the new Google app alpha version. Because it’s a very early version of the upcoming update, Google app v6.13 alpha is very buggy and even gets stuck in certain screens. Google Assistant was enabled by holding the home button, just like you would do in order to access Now on Tap.
Google Assistant can be enabled by holding the home button
Still, the alpha version could be proof that Google will bring its AI virtual assistant to non-Pixel smartphones very soon, although it could also mean that the feature was incorporated for testing purposes. It’s difficult to say at this point.
It then displays a message saying "New! You just got the Google Assistant" and the setup process for voice training begins there. The fact that it worked on a Nexus 6P smartphone isn’t a guarantee that it will work on other smartphones as well.
The new Google app has support for payments and delivery information to be used in conjunction with Google Assistant. It also comes with a recent searches page and lite mode that can be disabled under account settings. The teardown also suggests that Google might be bringing advanced offline search features for downloading the first few page results if you experience connectivity issues.