The iOS Google Assistant update lets you say "Hey Siri, OK Google". – TechCrunch



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Apple probably had no intention of letting its competitors take advantage of Siri shortcuts that way, but you can now launch Google Assistant on your iPhone by saying "Hi Siri, OK Google". .

But do not expect a flawless experience – it takes several steps. After updating the Google Assistant app on iOS, you must open the app to set up a new Siri shortcut for Google Assistant.

As its name indicates, Siri Shortcuts allows you to save custom phrases to launch specific applications or features. For example, you can create Siri shortcuts to read your favorite playlist, start a route to a specific place, send a text message to someone, and so on. If you want to chain multiple actions, you can even create complex algorithms using the Apple Shortcuts application.

By default, Google suggests the phrase "OK Google". You can choose something shorter, or "Hey Google" for example. After setting it up, you can call Siri and use that custom phrase to launch the Google app.

You may need to unlock your iPhone or iPad to let iOS open the app. The Google Assistant app automatically listens for your request. Again, you have to pause and wait for the application to appear before you say your query.

It's a pretty heavy ride and I'm not sure that many people will use it. But the fact that "Hey Siri, OK Google exists" is still a lot of fun.

On another level, Google Assistant is always the worst in terms of privacy. The application pushes you to enable "Web Activity and Applications", the famous privacy destroyer that encompasses everything. If you enable this setting, Google will collect your search history, Chrome browsing history, location, credit card purchases, and more.

This is an excellent example of a dark pattern. If you have not enabled web activity and apps, a flashing blue banner at the bottom of the app tells you that you can "unlock more features from the wizard".

When you tap on it, you get a nice little cartoon to distract you from the text. There is only one button that says "More". If you press it, the "Plus" button becomes "Turn On" – many people will not even see "No thanks" in the bottom left.

It is a classic method of persuasion. If someone asks you several questions and you say yes each time, you will tend to say yes to the last question, even if you do not agree with it. You pressed "Start" and "More" so you want to press the same button one more time. If you refuse, Google asks you again if you are 100% sure.

So be sure to read everything and understand that you are compromising privacy by using Google Assistant.

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