This was coming at some point sooner or later. The Google Assistant is finally coming to all devices that are installed with at least Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
This move comes at the same time when the tech giant has preinstalled the AI assistant on a non-Google device for the first time – the LG G6. The flagship has just been launched at the MWC 2017, but it won’t be available for purchase until later. This time around, you don’t need to root your phone or a Google Nexus 5X in order to get the new Assistant feature on your phone, rather, you only need a phone that runs on Android Marshmallow and above.
The Google Assistant first appeared with the Pixel and Pixel XL phones. The feature has since remained exclusive to the two phones but recently started making its way to non-Pixel devices thanks to the latest Android 7.1.2 Nougat beta. The OS brings the Assistant to the Google Nexus 5X, but the same has yet to happen as far as the Google Nexus 6P is concerned.
Google Assistant has also been working on older devices with Android KitKat on board, but this was through the Allo app. Android TV 6.0+ devices have also been confirmed to set to support the AI-based digital assistant. In short, it was all going to happen at some point – and it is happening now.
Starting this week, the Google Assistant will start rolling out to all devices that are using at least Android Marshmallow. This will, as usual, start from the U.S. before expanding to other English-speaking countries such as Canada, the UK, Australia and then head to German speakers in Europe. Of course, support for more languages will be added with time.
The Assistant will replace Google Search on your phone. To launch it, the “OK Google” command does the trick. Alternatively, you can simply press and hold the home button. Whether Google will be rolling it out via the Play Store or it will happen from the server side is still unknown. Hopefully, the new Assistant truly succeeds in replacing the Google Search in all aspects.