Google Adds ‘Automagical’ Instant Tethering To Pixel And Newer Nexus Phones

Google has started rolling out upgrades to its AI based software – Google Assistant on the Pixel smartphones that will include a new feature for controlling smart home devices. The device running Marshmallow, on the other hand, is reportedly a Samsung Galaxy Note 5, which comes as added speculation that Google may indeed be cooking up an Assistant rollout not only for non-Pixel devices, but also for non-Nexus devices.

For all you Google Assistant’s fans, we have a piece of real good news for you.

We gave the Pixel XL high marks in our review of Google’s phone, as we think it’s one of the top unlocked Android devices.

A new alpha version of the Google app with version number 6.13 was released for users signed up to the beta channel.

The battle for the smart home is on, with dozens (if not hundreds) of companies launching light bulbs, thermostats, fridges, garage door openers and a plethora of other gizmos you can control from your smartphone. There’s also evidence in the code for an advanced offline search that will also download the first few page results when you regain connectivity (in case you lose network access again shortly thereafter) and upcoming keyboard input for Google Assistant. But it should soon expand to other devices as Google Assistant is nearing its debut on a non-Pixel device.

Google’s latest virtual assistant, called Google Assistant, has so far been only available in a limited number of Google-owned products. It isn’t clear either if the release was intentional but it’s not advised to install the app. Now, Google is adding yet another feature to showcase what the Assistant holds when it becomes available for the rest of the devices. You’ll need a data connection to activate this feature.

Once you’re setup, a notification will appear on your non-host devices whenever you’re in range and there’s a data connection. Assistant for example has different capabilities if you use it on Google Home, in Google Allo, on the Google Pixel, or on Android Wear 2.0. Why?

You’ll notice that we said you might not get the Home Control menu in your Settings.