December 6, 2023

I’ve been an iPhone consumer for years, and I’m unlikely to change to Android anytime quickly. However each from time to time, I see new options on Google’s cell working system or rumors detailing future Pixel tips that I need on my Apple gadgets.

The latest one is a just lately found message notification characteristic which may come to the Pixel 8 this fall. Code snippets recommend that Pixel customers will have the ability to reply to notifications through voice with out touching the display. That will be an ideal characteristic for any machine, not only a Pixel telephone or an iPhone. And it’s the sort of characteristic I’d count on from a tool just like the Imaginative and prescient Professional to supply in some unspecified time in the future sooner or later.

I informed you latterly that the Imaginative and prescient Professional spatial pc will probably be quicker than your Mac, iPhone, and iPad due to the way you work together with it, not the {hardware}. The Imaginative and prescient Professional will probably be simply as highly effective as an M2 MacBook Air however will help computing on the pace of thought.

You simply have a look at the digital display and faucet your fingers within the air to work together with consumer interface parts. Add in voice instructions, and also you’ll have the ability to be extra productive than earlier than. There could be no extra scrolling, tapping, and touching. No extra keyboard shortcuts to multitask. Or at the very least, that’s what I’m dreaming of.

Siri on the Imaginative and prescient Professional headset. Picture supply: Apple Inc.

What does this should do with the Pixel 8? Nicely, the handset won’t observe your eyes just like the Imaginative and prescient Professional, but it surely would possibly allow you to do extra issues along with your voice, like answering notifications hands-free once they are available in.

Android developer Mishaal Rahman (through Android Authority) found code in Android that factors to Google engaged on the characteristic. The Pixel 8 would possibly allow you to reply to notifications through Google Assistant with out touching the display.

Right here’s what the method would possibly seem like:

A message notification arrives in your telephone.

You say, ‘Hey Google, reply’ or just simply ‘reply’ underneath sure situations.

Assistant would immediate you to dictate your message after which ship it.

It’s unclear whether or not Google will make this characteristic unique to the Pixel 8 or launch it later. However the firm is actually engaged on it if the code discovery is correct.

Additionally, it’s unclear the way you’d learn the notification. Would you faucet it? Or simply have the Assistant learn it to you? Would it not work with the display locked?

On the final query, I’ll level out one situation with the characteristic: information privateness. Google should make sure that solely the handset proprietor can reply to notifications through voice. In any other case, anybody else might simply try this, and that’s not one thing you’d need. It’s seemingly such a characteristic could be enabled solely when the display is unlocked; due to this fact, the consumer is authenticated.

Vision Pro introduced Apple's new Optic ID biometric authentication system.
Imaginative and prescient Professional launched Apple’s new Optic ID biometric authentication system. Picture supply: Apple Inc.

An alternate could be for Google to make use of some type of AI magic to authenticate the consumer through voice.

To get again to my Imaginative and prescient Professional instance, I’ll remind you that the headset options an Optic ID sensor that scans your iris. This virtually supplies steady, passive authentication. When notifications are available in, the working system at all times is aware of the wearer has entry to them. In flip, this is able to let the consumer reply to notifications through voice. I’m speculating right here, in fact.

That makes me wonder if a future model of Siri would allow you to reply iPhone notifications with out touching the show. A easy compromise could be utilizing Face ID to unlock the telephone. At this level, Siri might learn and allow you to reply to the notification. Apple might additionally adapt the characteristic to work on Mac if the consumer is logged in.

The Pixel 8 sequence drops in mid-October, at which level we’ll see whether or not this new hands-free reply to notifications characteristic will probably be obtainable on the brand new smartphones.