Anker's new voice-enabled Roav Bolt car charger brings Google Assistant along for the ride

By Adam Oram
published

Anker today announced a new addition to its Roav lineup of in-car tech (opens in new tab) — the Roav Bolt. As well as being a dual-USB car charger to keep your devices topped up on the road, the $50 Bolt adds Google Assistant directly to your car.

While you may already be familiar with the Alexa-enabled Roav Viva (opens in new tab), the Bolt brings the Google Voice Assistant along for the ride for the first time giving you hands-free control over all manner of things on your Bluetooth-connected smartphone.

Thanks to its noise-cancelling mic, the Bolt can pick up your voice commands clearly while the Assistant acts on them. You can control music playback, enable navigation, read and reply to messages, make calls, ask about your day ahead, and more — everything you expect from Google's hands-free helper. Voice notifications also keep you up to speed on incoming messages and reminders while you drive.

Pre-orders are open at the Anker Roav website and the Bolt is expected to ship next month.

See at Roav

Adam Oram
Adam Oram
Adam Oram is a Senior Writer at iMore. He studied Media at Newcastle University and has been writing about technology since 2013. He previously worked as an Apple Genius and as a Deals Editor at Thrifter. His spare time is spent watching football (both kinds), playing Pokémon games, and eating vegan food. Follow him on Twitter at [@adamoram](https://twitter.com/adamoram).
4 Comments
  • Am I missing something? I already have Google Assistant on my phone, why do I need another accessory to access it in my car. Either way, I'm saying, "OK Google," in my car with my phone in the car.
  • I would hope it has an improved microphone. With my original Pixel XL, it was a crapshoot if my phone will even unlock for me, let alone respond at all. I almost exclusively unlock by fingerprint and then just hold the home button to do any voice actions. Edit: i forgot that recently, i simply turned off the ability for the phone to unlock by voice and to respond to anything other than from the home screen or google maps & android auto. This was because I hated that my phone's screen turned on every time i talked to my Google Home Mini. This would allow me more access to the Assistant considering how I've somewhat hobbled its voice activation features out of frustration.
  • Also confused why I would need this.
  • I have an older truck with no bluetooth but I do have an AUX input. This will be great to auto-connect to my phone and play music without having to plug in or touch my phone.