Despite the fact that I frankly do not like the robotic voice of Google Assistant, and Alice, for my taste, sounds much nicer, I cannot deny him unprecedented opportunities. Over the years, Google's voice assistant has evolved into a super-convenient concierge who knows the answers to any questions and is able to execute a wide range of commands that are not available to competitors. I think even if Google decided to freeze the Google Assistant project for a couple of years, and then defrost it again, it would still be more functional than everything else. But of course, the company will never do that because the assistant still has a lot to learn.
Google Assistant learned to read text aloud
Google unveiled the Reading feature for Google Assistant tonight. Thanks to it, the assistant will be able to read aloud the contents of web pages and running applications. He doesn't care if there are other elements on the screen besides text, he will automatically analyze the content, discard all unnecessary and start reading, observing punctuation marks and pauses. This function is useful for visually impaired people, as well as in situations where it is not possible to hold the smartphone in front of you and read the text yourself. And why, if you can just ask?
How to make Google Assistant read
For Google Assistant to read the text on the screen, you must first open the desired page in a web browser, and then call the assistant either by voice or by pressing the corresponding button and say: 'Read this' or 'Read'. By and large, the wording that you use when giving a command to an assistant does not matter. He understands the context perfectly, allowing you to use any words you deem appropriate. Nevertheless, it is still better not to scare yourself, checking the knowledge of Google Assistant, but to formulate the command as simply as possible.
While reading, Google Assistant will keep listening to the user, making the process interactive. Thanks to this, you can ask him to repeat what he read or switch to the next block, if we are talking about, for example, reading a recipe while cooking. In addition, you can manually change the reading speed and make other adjustments to improve the reading experience. After all, not everyone likes measured reading, someone wants to quickly hear what is written and analyze it.
Google Assistant update
Google Assistant reads in 42 languages
To make it easier to understand the assistant's speech by ear, Google developers had to work on his pronunciation, teach the correct placement of stress, pauses and even expression. Of course, as far as possible, since Google Assistant is one of the few voice assistants that uses computer-synthesized voice, rather than using voice actors like, for example, 'Alice' from Yandex, Siri or Cortana from Microsoft. Therefore, of course, it will still not be possible to avoid flaws when reading 100%.
Google Assistant can read text in 42 languages, including Russian. However, now, while the new function is distributed only in test mode, only owners of Google Pixel smartphones will be able to use it. Therefore, if you are the proud owner of one of them, you can try the innovation right now. After a while, it will reach all devices not older than five years. The only condition is support for Google services in general and Google Assistant in particular.