- The Assistant now runs locally on your phone for a zero latency speed increase.
- Continued Conversations coming to phones for more natural conversations.
- Timers you set with the Assistant on displays and speakers can be stopped by just saying "stop".
- Waze is getting Google Assistant integration.
The Google Assistant is one of the most impressive products under Google's belt at the moment, and to no one's surprise, I/O was a showcase for a bunch of new upgrades coming to the Assistant this year.
Without a doubt, the most impressive Assistant upgrade is the fact that Google's designed it to now run locally on phones. Because of this, the Assistant can now perform tasks with zero latency — giving it a massive speed boost compared to how it works right now. In an example Google showed on stage, someone was able to open apps, check the weather, send texts, and more using the Assistant with no slowdowns or lag of any kind. It was damn impressive. Furthermore, the demo also showed Continued Conversations working on a Pixel 3 — something that's previously only been available on smart speakers and smart displays.
The Google Assistant is also getting Personal References to show more contextual results based on your usage. For example, you could say "what's the weather like at my mom's house this weekend" and the Assistant will know where your mom's house is and show the weather accordingly.
Also, if you set a timer on a smart speaker or display, Google's rolling out a feature that'll allow you to stop the timer by just saying "stop", no "Hey Google" required. Nice.
Other Assistant upgrades include it coming to Waze, more immersive games for smart displays, and a Driving Mode that'll give you a car-centric UI to use the Assistant safely in the car (pictured above).
