OK, Google – are you really needed?

For over a month now, Poles have been able to use the Google Assistant in their native language. Its introduction took place gradually – owners of Android devices had priority, then a separate application for iOS was introduced. However, we will have to wait for the possibility of operating devices from the Google Home series using the Assistant. How does it work for Polish users? After the initial euphoria, it’s time to look at this innovation with a cool eye.

When the Poles had their voice assistant, a mass phase of testing his skills began. The first screeching appeared due to the difference in running it on Android and iOS – while the first one is called from the unlocked screen, on iPhones you first need to run a separate application to start responding. And since you already have the phone in your hand for this purpose, you can immediately search or turn on something yourself … In addition, iPhones or iPads already have their own assistant built in, which is part of the system – Siri – so Google Assistant seems all the more redundant on devices Apple. With Siri, you can turn on the Google Assistant without bothering to the application – first you need to call Siri and tell her to “call” him. Absurd, right?

Users of the Google Assistant complain about the lack of the Voice Match function – so it is often called on all devices nearby, and not on one specific device, because it does not recognize the owner’s voice. This is true not only in public places, but even when more than one person is traveling in the car. During the route, this phenomenon can occur quite often, because the Google Assistant is usually used while driving, when we cannot enter the location into the navigation ourselves and ask our smartphone for help. People praise it also in the case of cooking – when we do not want to touch the screen with dirty hands to set the timer or check the recipe quickly, the assistant makes it easier for us. While we still have to unlock the screen to give the command, with our hands in a raw dough, for example, it’s still a better situation than having to enter the entire query ourselves.

Despite the fun and charming feature of telling jokes or poems, the Google Assistant doesn’t seem like a good conversation partner. There is no continuity of conversation, the tool is “lost” and has to be called again, which takes away the naturalness and freedom of using this facility. In addition, people simply feel embarrassed to talk to the phone when they are not talking to someone else. For some – especially the elderly – someone talking on a Bluetooth headset is still of interest, and a conversation with a phone that has an evident mechanical voice would be considered at least a similar level of weirdness. Most users consider the Assistant to be a fashionable gadget, and since it is easily accessible, people are still curious about it, but it doesn’t seem to be taken seriously.

It may also be irritating that it will take some time before you can enjoy the compatibility of Google Home devices with the Assistant in Poland. The vision of turning on loudspeakers, regulating the temperature of radiators or turning on the light with a voice command thrown into space is very tempting – especially due to the Google Assistant advertisement, in which Macaulay Culkin recreates scenes from the iconic “Home Alone”.

Currently, Google Assistant in Poland is still a curiosity. When the ability to unlock the screen with a command is introduced – and this option is now available abroad – the virtual helper will definitely become more useful. In the meantime, while waiting for new functions to be added and the Assistant’s services to be expanded, we can rather play with it (try instead of “OK, Google”, call “OK, bubu” – it works too!) Than use it as a functional tool.