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Google Assistant is coming to ageing Android smartphones and tablets

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Google Assistant is coming to ageing Android smartphones and tablets
GOOGLE HAS ANNOUNCED that it’s bringing its AI Assistant to the 30 per cent of Android users still rocking its three-year-old Lollipop OS.
This might sound like a bit of a non-story, but more than 26 per cent of all Android devices are still running some version of Google’s ageing Android 5.0 Lollipop software.
An update to Google Play Services means that these older devices can now access Google Assistant. Once the update is installed, you’ll be able to fire up the AI helper by saying “OK, Google”, long-pressing your home button, or by tapping the Assistant icon that’s added to your “all apps” list.
The AI helper the same functionality as the version found on newer Android devices, which means you’ll be able to bark at your outdated smartphone in order to open apps, get restaurant recommendations or, if you’re feeling down, to hear a joke.
Assistant for Android 5.0 Lollipop has already started to roll out to users with English set as their language in the US, UK, India, Australia, Canada, and Singapore, and users with their language set as Spanish in the US, Mexico, and Spain. It will also shortly come to Italy, Japan, Germany, Brazil, and Korea.
Related: One in four Brits have a crush on Alexa, Cortana, Google Assistant or Siri
Google is also bringing Assistant to tablets running Android 7.0 Nougat and 6.0 Marshmallow. However, it’ll be available in the “coming weeks” only on English tablets in the US, but it’s a start.
Google claims that, thanks to these updates, Assistant will now reach more than 80 per cent of all Android users around the world. µ

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