What you need to know

  • Marketing videos have leaked showing the "new Google Assistant" on the Pixel 4.
  • There's a revamped UI and a big speed increase.
  • Google's also shrunk the size of Assistant and moved its functionality to running on-device.

Google's Pixel devices have become notorious for heavily leaking leading up to announcement time, and the Pixel 4 is quickly shaping up to be the most-leaked yet. 9to5Google recently got its hands on marketing videos for the Pixel 4, showcasing a new and improved version of the Google Assistant that looks very promising.

Starting first with the Assistant's appearance, it now pops up with a multi-colored light bar at the bottom of the screen with "Hi, how can I help?" shown above this. As you start asking your question, this text seamlessly transitions into whatever you're saying. It's more compact than the current Assistant pop-up and is a bit more visually-pleasing all-around.

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Along with the new UI, the upgraded Assistant is also getting a major speed boost. Google first showed this off at Google I/O 2019 this past May, and these leaked videos further reinforce just how much faster the Assistant will soon be.

Here's how 9to5Google describes one of the videos it acquired:

One interaction demoed shows a person getting a text about when their flight lands. They ask Assistant to show an itinerary and then proceed to have Google send back a text with the right time. Notably, you do not have to specify the recipient as Assistant remembers the context and what message conversation you're in.

Another example shows that you can open the Google Photos app, specify what kind of pictures you want to see, and send it as a message attachment to one of your contacts. The speed at which everything moves is considerably faster than what we have now, making it much more feasible to do more with your phone by just using your voice.

As Google mentioned back at I/O, the Assistant is also getting much more efficient with this new version. The models used to process voice commands is shrinking from 100GB down to 0.5GB, and certain functions such as enabling Airplane Mode happen entirely on-device with no data connection required.

This "new Google Assistant" as Google is calling it will make its first appearance on the Pixel 4 later this month, but it should expand to other Android devices not too long after.

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