Here's everything you can command your new Moto X to do by voice

Moto Voice on Moto X
How To
By Phil Nickinson | Sep 26 2014 | 1:22 pm  | 29 Comments

What's easier than telling your new Moto X to tell you all the things you can command it to do with your voice? Why, getting one of us to tell you first.

Moto Voice is the new-and-improved voice integration that does a lot of what you get with Google Now, but with a few Moto X-specific features as well. When you first set up Moto Voice it'll recommend you take a spin through this list. But if you're still trying to figure out if the Moto X is right for you (and we highly recommend taking a read through our full Moto X review first), here's a preview:

Voice commands on the new Moto X

  • Goodnight: Turns on the Sleeping do-not-disturb mode in Moto Assist.
  • Post to Facebook: Shares that oh-so-urgent status update that's just burning a hole inside you.
  • Send WhatsApp message: Same, only over WhatsApp.
  • What's Up? Tells you the time, and any unread notifications.
  • What's this song? Listens to the beat. Tells you what's rocking.
  • How far away is the moon? Just a basic Google search. (Answer: 238,900 miles.)
  • Navigate home: If you have a home location noted in Google and need to know how to get there, this will help guide you there. (Or you can obviously navigate other places.)
  • Take a selfie: We're not saying you should, but this will fire up the front-facing camera and count down from three. Be sure to remember to use duckface.
  • When's my next meeting? Uses Google Now to see what you're about to be up to, or what it was your were supposed to be doing.
  • Find my phone: A great old feature. Finds your phone.
  • Remind me to pick up milk tonight: Sets a reminder to pick up milk. Or bread. Or cheese. Need anything else?
  • Play Beethoven on YouTube: Because if there's one thing Beethoven had in mind all those years ago, it was being broadcast on the same medium as cat videos.
  • Talk to me: Will announce incoming calls and texts and for a half-hour.
  • Set alarm for 6 a.m. tomorrow: Boy, you sure do wake up early.
  • Take a photo: Fires up the rear camera.
  • Send text to Lisa Lewis: She'll be glad to hear from you. Or text anyone else in your contacts.
  • Check voicemail: It's your mom. Give her a call back.
  • Open Calendar: Because being late is for losers.
  • Good morning: Wake up, talk to your phone, learn your next appointment.
  • Get list of commands: This does what we just did here. Only not as funny.
  • What's the weather? So you know what it's like outside without having to go outside.
  • Call Lisa Lewis on mobile: That Lisa Lewis sure is popular. Or you could call anyone else.

The important part as you're looking at this list on your phone in the Moto Voice app are all the words in bold. Those are the actions. You knew that, of course.

Be sure to check out our inside look at the new features in the Moto X.

Phil Nickinson

Phil Nickinson Editor in Chief

"Phil is a recovering print journalist, editor of Android Central, subtitles and street signs."

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Reader comments

Here's everything you can command your new Moto X to do by voice

29 Comments
Cheetah23

Nicely done.

And to those who will be concerned...yes, it's a typo...now move on. (Thanks for the fix, Phil.)

kboss375

Maybe it's already there and I dont know, but it would be sweet to get Google now to read me my notifications.

A895

This. Can confirm. That was even on my Moto back in April.

Posted via the Android Central App

hmmm

I thought "OK, Google" had to be the default voice command on phones under Google's contract? Or, do they pick and choose which manufacturers to enforce that one?

majikmonkie

"OK Google" is for Google Now. The 1st Gen Moto X uses a different app (Touchless Control) with the phrase "OK Google Now" as it's phrase, and basically sends the command into Google Now, or acts on it itself if it needs to. It's seperate from Google Now, but still uses it.

With the new update to Touchless Control, you can set the phrase to nearly anything you like.

Android Adenoid

You missed the classic; "How much wood can a woodchuck chuck?"

There's a lot of useful and fun Google-Search-type voice commands (flight info, package delivery info., conversions). You may want to consider compiling a list of some of the more popular or interesting.

Android Adenoid

Yes I know. That was the point of the second paragraph. There are several "Google Voice search things" on the list above. So the list is not specific to the new Moto X voice.

frifred

Only thing missing is being able to answer an incoming call completely via voice command.....then it would be perfect for my handicapped friend who cannot use her hands.

mikec8785

So why can't Moto make it so I can send a message through Hangouts? If they can do it for WhatsApp surely they can do it for hangouts. It's a pain driving trying to respond to Hangout messages that aren't texts.

Posted via Android Central App

ProParkour

I had no clue about the find my phone feature command. Works great on my 2013 X

Posted via the Android Central App

rafabr4

Those are nice. We still need google play music commands though! Something like "Next song" or "Preivous song" or "Shuffle music".

deesugar

You sure that "Navigate Home" works?!? because that feature hasn't been working for many people regardless of device for a long time now, ever since the 4.3 update.

Malay Agarwal

That's cute
Cortana can do ALL of that. And soon she is getting passive voice activation. That's icing on a cake. You know, there are some things that windows phone is capable of too. And I am just here to take a stand for it. Haha.

John Doe86

Nah, no intelligent, sane human being would ever "take a stand" for that - you're here because you got paid to promote that dying mobile platform ;-)

Daethian

I played with an old Windows phone from HTC and I actually loved it...just a serious lack of apps :(

plunder

Hey Phil . . . How does one ask a missing phone to "find" itself? I loved your 8 phone sandwich BTW.

Awesome AC.

Daethian

Great list thanks! Any ideas if we will ever be able to add other messaging apps? For example I use KIK instead of Whatsapp. Could KIK devs update their app to work with the Moto X Voice commands?