Hidden Google Assistant Settings You Might Want To Change On Your Pixel 7

Have you purchased a Google Pixel 7 and want to experience the best of Google Assistant? Tweaking a few settings will let you unlock the true potential of the Pixel 7 and the Pixel 7 Pro. Both these devices run on Android 13, and with Google's promise to provide major Android updates until 2025, the Pixel 7 will last you a long time. Although most major smartphone manufacturers use Android with their own custom UI skins, Google's Pixel series rocks vanilla Android, the stock form of the operating system.

The California-based tech giant announced Google Assistant during its I/O conference in May 2016. But the groundwork for the voice assistant was laid with Google Voice Search, which came out in 2011 as a new way to interact with smartphones via voice. In the following years, the company released Google Now. This digital assistant informed users about the weather, their schedule, and other helpful information in the form of cards, but it wasn't conversational (per Digital Trends). The modern Google Assistant combines voice search and Google Now, and it sure makes life easier for many of us.

You've probably used Google Assistant by saying "Okay Google," or "Hey Google," but what if you could access the Assistant without repeating the phrase? How about changing the Assistant's voice? Keep your Pixel 7 handy and follow along to make your Google assistant smarter and better.

Yes, you can change the Google Assistant's voice. By default, Google Assistant uses a female voice. To change it, follow the steps given below.

1. Open the Settings app on your Pixel 7 and select Apps > Assistant.
2. You can also say "Hey Google, open Assistant Settings."
3. Scroll down and choose See all Assistant Settings.
4. Select Assistant voice & sounds.
5. You should see several circles on the screen. The one with the checkmark represents your current voice setting. Tap any other circle to hear different Google Assistant voice options.
6. You will hear a sentence in the new voice you've selected. If you like it, leave the menu and return to the home screen.

Another setting that can save you from saying "Hey Google" multiple times is Continued Conversation. Once you enable it, you can keep talking to the Google Assistant without repeatedly waking it up. So, if you like to ask follow-up questions or want to have a nice conversation with the virtual assistant, activate Continued Conversation by following the steps given below. It works with smart displays and speakers as well. 

1. Repeat steps 1 or 2 from above.
2. Enable Continued Conversation by tapping the toggle toward the right.
3. Now, whenever Google Assistant is done talking, you can continue to issue commands for a few seconds after without saying "Hey Google" again.

Google voice detection has improved over time. In the early days, Google Assistant would frequently miss users speaking the activation phrase, but the chances of that happening now are much smaller (unless you are in a noisy environment). But what if you feel awkward saying, "Okay Google," every time you want Google Assistant to do something? Enter Quick Phrases that let you use the assistant without saying the phrase out loud and get the job done. 

1. Head to Settings > Apps > Assistant or say "Hey Google, open Assistant Settings."
2. In the menu, tap on Quick Phrases.
3. Enable the toggle beside Alarms and timers and Incoming calls.
   1. Alarms and timers: To stop alarms and timers, you can say "Stop" or "Snooze." Google Assistant remains active while alarms and timers are running with this option, and will detect these voice commands.
   2. Incoming calls: With this option, Google Assistant automatically activates when you have an incoming call. To pick up, say "Answer" while your phone is ringing. Similarly, to reject, say "Decline."

Another way to get things done without saying "Hey Google" is activating the power button shortcut for waking the Assistant. Repeat step 1 and select Hold Power for your Assistant. On the following screen, enable Hold for Assistant and you're good to go. Whether you want to check the weather or call someone, press and hold the power button to invoke Google Assistant and start speaking.

Suppose you are about to sleep and wish to set an alarm, check your phone's battery, and enable do not disturb mode. You could ask Google Assistant to do each step for you, but that takes a while. For situations like this, Google Assitant has a feature called Routines. The Routines setting assigns multiple tasks to one voice command. 

1. Visit Settings > Apps > Assistant or say "Hey Google, open Assistant Settings."
2. Select See all Assistant Settings.
3. Scroll down and tap on Routines.
4. Google Assistant comes with some example commands, but we'll create a new one to walk you through the process.
5. Tap on the New button at the top right. In this example, we're creating a Google Assistant routine when we reach home from work or school.
6. Enter the name of the Routine in the text field at the top. In this case, we're entering "Home."
7. Assign a command to the Routine by tapping on Add starter. We'll enter "I am home" and "I have reached home."
8. Connect several actions to the command by tapping on Add action. For our example Routine, add the following actions:
   1. Tell me tomorrow's weather
   2. Tell me about tomorrow's first calendar event
9. Once done, tap on Save toward the bottom right corner.
10. Try launching Google Assistant and saying one of the starter phrases. 

The Google Assistant also comes with app-based Shortcuts — voice commands that let you perform specific tasks. For instance, you can set an assistant shortcut for viewing your Instagram notifications, WhatsApp messages from a particular contact, taking a selfie from the camera, or adding new calendar events.

1. Head to Settings > Apps > Assistant or say "Hey Google, open Assistant Settings."
2. Select See all Assistant Settings and scroll down to Shortcuts.
3. Under the Shortcuts you might like section, select a suggestion.
4. If you want to browse all shortcuts for a particular app, scroll down and check the All shortcuts for your apps section. For instance, tapping on YouTube will show all available assistant shortcuts, including "Subscriptions," "Shorts," "Explore," and "YouTube History."
5. Select the desired shortcut by tapping on the plus button towards the right.
6. Google Assistant will show a confirmation that you've added a shortcut. For example, if you chose the "YouTube History" shortcut, Google Assistant will show a message saying, "Next time just say, 'Hey Google, YouTube history.'"

Last but not least, you can also set a default music streaming service for Google Assistant. In the Assistant Settings menu, select Music. The following screen will contain a list of music apps installed on your device along with other popular platforms. Select one by pressing the circular button toward the right, and that's it. Knowing your preference, your Google Assistant will only search for music on the selected platform. 

12 Things You Never Knew Your Smartphone Could Do

For many, it's a ritual to wake up, grab your phone, and open Instagram. You start scrolling an endless feed, only to realize a while after that you need to get on with your day. But your smartphone can do more than just calling, messaging, and scrolling through social media, much of which is quite productive.

Modern phones are capable of doing things like controlling the gadgets in your smart home, for example. But even if you don't have a smart home, you can do plenty of cool things with a smartphone.

Some of those cool things are built into your phone out of the box. Other things require installing an app from the App Store or the Play Store. Give the compulsive social media scrolling a break and use your smartphone for something more productive or innovative.

In this guide, we cover 12 things you didn't know you could do with your smartphone.

You've probably edited videos on your phone before. There are tons of apps out there and you can also create cool stuff with Instagram's boomerang. But did you know you can create cool looping videos with the Clips app if you use an iPhone?

These aren't your basic run-of-the-mill looping videos. Here's how to make it happen:

Start by recording a simple loop video and import it into the Clips app. Next, trim the beginning and end of the video so it loops by itself. Then, add more clips with the same movement. Finally, change an unexpected element of your video (for instance, scale or change an object).

If you need some help with editing, Apple has a tutorial for editing videos on the Clips app. Once you've created your video, you can directly post it on social media, share it with a friend, or save it on your device.

Ever had to drive a car parked for hours under the sun? The first few minutes are excruciatingly hot even with the AC turned on. Wouldn't it be awesome if you could cool down the car before you start driving?

You can do that, and a lot more, with Viper SmartStart. It essentially converts your smartphone into your vehicle's remote control. Installing the complete system allows you to unlock and start the car, open the trunk, find your car's location, and activate its security system, among other things. With Viper SmartStart installed, you'll have the option to prepare the car for a comfortable experience before you use it.

The app is available for both Android and iOS for free, but you'll need to invest in hardware and pay Viper's monthly service fee to use the system. The total cost of installing the system will also vary from installer to installer since it's not a DIY system.

Need to measure the length of an object, but don't have your tape measure handy? There's little to worry about when you have a smartphone. There are several mobile apps that can help you measure the length of an object by using the phone's camera.

For instance, you can use the Measure app on the iPhone to measure an object's length. The app uses augmented reality (AR) to calculate the object's dimensions. To use the Measure app:

Start by launching the app. Point your phone's camera towards an object. Keep adjusting the camera's angle until you see a white circle with a dot at its center. Then, bBring the dot over the starting point of the object. This is where it will start measuring from. 

Next, press the Add (+) button. Move the phone across the object until the dot is on the other end of the object. Press the Add (+) button again when the circle is over the point where you want to end the measurement.

Have you ever driven when it's foggy or raining heavily? It's hard to see what's on the road. You want to drive as slowly and carefully as you can to avoid missing a turn and driving your car off the road. The good thing is that your smartphone can help.

You can use the Hudway app to display the directions on your windshield. Download the app on your Android or iOS device, enter the destination and let Hudway pull the correct directions. Place the phone on your car's dashboard so it can project the map onto the windshield.

Note that you should mount the phone properly so it doesn't fall off the dashboard. Also, place it appropriately so it doesn't keep you from seeing the road clearly. The app uses your phone's GPS, which means it will consume more battery, so be sure to keep your charger handy in case you need it.

No, you can't use your phone for treasure hunting. However, if you've lost a piece of jewelry or want to find a needle that rolled off your hand, you can use your smartphone as a metal detector.

You'll find a ton of metal detector apps on the Google Play Store and App Store. The apps are free, though not ad-free. Download one of those to your Android or iOS device and start your metal search by moving your phone around.

The app will use a built-in magnetometer to find metallic objects as you move your device, and notify you when it finds a metal object.

Note that there might also be other metallic objects in the area and electronic items like TV and refrigerator. These objects may get in the way when you're using a metal detecting app. The results are usually not completely reliable and depend on your phone's magnetic sensor, but they're helpful nonetheless.

Wonder if you're ok to drive? Well, your smartphone can help you verify this before you get behind the wheels and save you from a DUI and potential accidents. You can use your smartphone as a breathalyzer by installing an app like BACtrack on your Android and iOS device.

Of course, you also need an actual breathalyzer from BACtrack that connects with your phone and syncs with the app. Once those are connected, you'll be able to blow into the device and check the app to look at your current blood alcohol content. With BACtrack, you'll always know if it's best to use a cab or you're good to drive without putting yourself and anybody else's lives at risk.

Note that you should wait at least 15 minutes after your first drink to check your blood alcohol content and it might continue to rise until one hour after your last drink (per WebMD). 

Lost your remote again? Guess what? You don't need to find it if you have a smartphone. You can install an app, or use a built-in function if your phone has it, to control electronic devices like TV, AC, DVD player, and projector, among others.

Newer iPhones and Android TVs typically have built-in controls for Apple TV and Google TV, respectively. However, you can download an app like ASmart Remote IR (Android) or EzRemote Lite (iOS) and use your phone as a remote control for almost any household device. You can also use the manufacturer's app in some cases.

These apps usually rely on your phone's IR blaster, but there are other ways to use your smartphone as a remote if your phone doesn't have an IR blaster. For instance, you can use the Google TV app to control an Android TV. The app syncs with the Android TV and uses WiFi, so it works even without an IR blaster.

Found some old film negatives while cleaning the house? How about digitizing them real quick using your smartphone? Since most photos exist only as a digital copy now, it makes sense to scan these negatives and store them as digital files instead of converting them into a physical photo album.

You don't need a film and slide scanner to scan negatives. You can scan negatives with your smartphone by clicking a picture of the negative and scanning it with one of the negative scanner apps available on the Play Store or App Store.

You can use apps like Photo Negative Scanner (Android) and FilmBox (iOS) to quickly capture negatives and turn them into high-quality pictures. The apps use a scanning algorithm to automatically invert colors and improve image quality to produce excellent quality pictures. Once you've digitized these pictures, you can export them to your device and share it with friends and family. You can also convert them into an album using an app like Google Photos.

If you're like most people, you have a few unused apps installed on your phone. Even though you're not using them, they can still access data on your phone. For instance, if you installed a dating app last year, but have since found someone, it makes sense to revoke the app's access to your data.

There's an easy way to stop these apps from collecting your data on Android. Android's permission auto-reset option periodically cleans up permissions from unused apps. You'll receive a notification each time the permissions are reset. If you wish to continue allowing access to data to a certain app, you can always go back and change the permissions.

You can also review app permissions in iOS by going into Settings > Privacy. You can select individual apps and grant or revoke access to data based on your preference. There's no auto-reset option for permissions granted to unused apps on iOS, though, so you'll need to make these changes manually.

Splitting your screen is an excellent way to multitask. It's always been easy to split screens on your laptop, but did you know you could split your smartphone's screen too? Both Android and iOS devices let you split screens. The option is built-in on Android so you don't need to install any third-party apps, but you'll need a third-party app on iPhone.

Here's how you can split the screen on stock Android or Samsung devices:

Launch both apps you want to use after splitting the screen. Then, tap the recent apps button from the bottom of your screen. Find the app you want to use in split screen and hold-press the app's icon at the top. Next, select "Split Screen". Finally, select the other app you'd like to use after splitting the screen.

iPads do have a built-in split screen option, but on iPhone you can use an app like Split Screen View to multitask.

Android Smart Lock solves one of the most annoying parts of smartphone security — having to unlock the phone every time you want to use it. Instead, Smart Lock offers conditional security. It doesn't lock the phone at specific times as per your preference, and locks it otherwise.

For instance, you can set the Smart Lock such that the phone will remain unlocked as long as it's in a certain place (such as your home). Similarly, you can also keep the phone unlocked when it's on your body or connected to a trusted device.

You can enable Smart Lock on Android 5.0 Lollipop and later by going to Settings > Security > Advanced > Trust agents. Your phone may house Smart Lock in a different place, but you should be able to find it by searching for "Smart Lock" in Settings.

Once you've set up Smart Lock, you don't need to worry about repeatedly inserting the security pin or pattern every time you want to unlock your phone.

How many times have you read a message from a friend from the notification panel and decided to leave the notification untouched as a reminder for replying to them? If you do this too, you're probably careful about not clearing the notifications panel because it means your reminders are gone. It's even worse if you forget to respond to your boss because you cleared your notifications.

However, there's an easy solution. You can enable notifications history on your Android smartphone. Doing this will create a log of notifications that you'll be able to access even if you inadvertently clear all the notifications.

Enabling notification history is fairly straightforward. Here's how you can do it on Android 12:

Go to Settings > Notifications > Notification history. Then, toggle the button on for the "Use notification history" option.

Once you've done this, you'll see a log of subsequent notifications in a section under the "Use notification history" option.