Categories: MobilitySmartphones

Google Assistant Arrives On Android L Smartphones

Google is bringing Google Assistant to more Android smartphones and tablets in a bid to expand its reach as it competes with the likes of Microsoft Cortana and Amazon Alexa.

Android 5.0 Lollipop smartphones and tablets running version 6.0 Marshmallow and version 7.0 Nougat will get the update, meaning that half of all Android users will have access. Indeed, Android L is used by a quarter of all Android handsets around the world.

Google Assistant Android L

UK users who have their language set as English will be able to use Google Assistant from today, while Spanish, Italian, Japanese, German, French, Portuguese and Korean also supported.

Google Assistant launched last year on the Google Pixel smartphone and his expanded to other devices to give them AI features and voice activated commands.

The Google Home was released earlier this year, bringing the Google Assistant into the home and the office, while a Google Home Mini was recently released.

Google competes with Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana and Amazon’s Alexa in the AI assistant space. Amazon has launched something similar to the Home in the form of the Amazon Echo and is now working to integrate its technology into Android smartphones and even connected vehicles, representing a significant threat to Google.

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Steve McCaskill

Steve McCaskill is editor of TechWeekEurope and ChannelBiz. He joined as a reporter in 2011 and covers all areas of IT, with a particular interest in telecommunications, mobile and networking, along with sports technology.

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