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Google Says Assistant Will Be On a Billion Devices By the End of the Month, Up From Around 400 Million Devices Last Year (techcrunch.com)

Posted by msmash on from the aggressive-expansion dept.

Days after Amazon revealed that 100 million Alexa-enabled devices have been sold, Google said today that it expects the billionth device with its AI Assistant to be sold later this month. From a report: Ahead of CES this morning, Google dropped a little stat update: Google expects Assistant to be on 1 billion devices total by the end of this month. That's up from around 400M devices this time a year ago. Google first announced Assistant back in May of 2016. By October of that year, they'd rolled it out to the Pixel/Pixel XL; nowadays, it's on TVs, smart speakers, tablets, smart watches, and just about every new Android phone that hits the market.

68 comments

  1. Its so hit-and-miss by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I used it on my phone for a few days. Mostly to text message people. It was really handy to be able to press a button & say "ok google, text message jim"

    But it only seems to work about 1/2 the time. Sometimes itll actually text message jim, and other times it will bring up web search results for the query "text message jim" which is not nearly as useful.

    1. Re:Its so hit-and-miss by aitikin · · Score: 2

      When was that? In 2016 I had issues like the web search results thing, but for at least the past year, the only problem I've had is sometimes it doesn't catch my comments because I have too many things going on on my phone (running too many apps/services on a 2 year old device). When I need it to work (driving) it's almost always been perfect.

      It's also rather useful when I can't take my hands off of what I'm doing (cooking for example) to start timers or double check my memory on how many tablespoons are in a cup (16) or teaspoons in a tablespoon (3). In that application, it's often picking up the wake word from me while playing a video and has been able to do that without issue about 75% of the time.

      --
      "Don't meddle in the affairs of a patent dragon, for thou art tasty and good with ketchup." ~ohcrapitssteve
    2. Re:Its so hit-and-miss by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just a few months ago. & its not because i have too much stuff on my phone, im not really a big smartphone guy. i kinda hate using the thing, its got the default apps + a guitar tuner & thats about it.

  2. Stats I'd like to see..... by Killall+-9+Bash · · Score: 5, Insightful

    1. How many people USE assistant?
    2. How mnay people know they have it installed?

    --
    "Prediction: within 10 years, Windows will be a Linux distribution." Me, 7-6-2016
    1. Re:Stats I'd like to see..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I use it quite a bit. Know a stat of one is pointless to mention but it is handy. If I need to call a business, I just squeeze the phone and say 'call such and such in my location' and it dials up the local number.

    2. Re:Stats I'd like to see..... by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      It's useful in the car. If you decide to change destination, or need to make a detour, or want to see nearby chargers, you can just ask it. Sometimes it offers you alternative routes and you can just say yes or no.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    3. Re:Stats I'd like to see..... by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

      1. How many people USE assistant? 2. How mnay people know they have it installed?

      1 No

      2 Yes

      This is basically just a count of android devices.

      --
      Wanna buy a shirt?
      https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
    4. Re:Stats I'd like to see..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1. How many people USE assistant?

      2. How mnay people know they have it installed?

      You kind of have to if you use Google Home.

    5. Re:Stats I'd like to see..... by grep+-v+'.*'+* · · Score: 1

      How many people USE assistant?

      Dunno, but I've got two Google Minis that I assume use it. I bought one on a lark, expecting to give them out as stupid joke Christmas presents with "Big Brother is Watching You" wrapping paper that I made.

      Within 3 days I was using it, in a week was actively using it for the time, weather, random info, and alarms. It's killer app for ME though is setting a reminder at a certain time -- where I don't have to find the phone and type and can spend 10 seconds to enter it without stopping what else I'm doing. Excellent for remembering things to do while going to sleep. And right now I'm listening to anime OSTs sent via YT. Even left a feedback or two via the mini for things that didn't work quite right.

      I've gone from "this is a stupid joke, ha!" to also buying WiFi Light Bulbs (!!) for my friends to be able to do something besides ask about the weather.

      Don't know if they'll use it or not but *I'M* sure a convert. (That being said, everything is configured for a manual fail-over mode, so if the internet goes does the lights and power outlets will still all work manually. None of this "Google/Amazon is down so I can't adjust my thermostat" bunk.)

      --
      If the universe is someone's simulation -- does that mean the stars are just stuck pixels?
    6. Re:Stats I'd like to see..... by squiggleslash · · Score: 2

      3. How many people would just like reliable voice dialing, rather than "Hope the fucker understands my accent this time and doesn't consider my question vague enough for it to prompt with a new question that for some reason it'll not listen for an answer to"?

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    7. Re:Stats I'd like to see..... by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Voice dialling works really well for me, but then again I don't have many friends so the number of possible names it has to match against is rather limited.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    8. Re:Stats I'd like to see..... by AvitarX · · Score: 1

      I went the other way.

      I started with Hue bulbs, that felt really expensive at first but as time went on felt very much worth it (controlling color temperature and having my bedroom lights slowly turn on to wake me up was nice, I then added switches and lit the rest of the house), I got 2 home minis and a screen a week ago, and it's great.

      I feel stupid talking to it, but it's really nice having an integrated control all over my house to listen to podcasts as I wander, check the temperature, control the temperature, and the lights. Though things like the lights are a little bit of a nuisance.

      --
      Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
    9. Re:Stats I'd like to see..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't have hard data, but anecdotally I'd say at least half my friends use voice assistants.

      I don't use them. Lota people do tho.

    10. Re:Stats I'd like to see..... by Shaitan · · Score: 1

      These are fair points. If you have Alexa you almost certainly intentionally paid for it. Is google counting phones?

      That said, Google seems to be winning this war and I've starting replacing Alexa around the house with Google devices.

      There are some issues though. First the app is horrible, the installed services is per user so it becomes highly fragmented. For instance I can't go in and remove phillips hue (which are more universally and seemlessly controlled via my home automation hub which GA can also talk to) because my wife initially installed it.

      The same becomes true of shopping lists. Normally we use a voice assistant device in the kitchen, when something is running low, we think of something we want to make, or are simply doing a check before going shopping we'd quickly tell the voice assistant to add those things to the shopping list. In this way the person going shopping will always know we are low on bread and pick it up. With GA by default everything goes in individual shopping lists instead of a shared list. We can change this but currently my little brother is staying with us and has an iphone and no google services, GA says it can't identify him and refuses to let him modify a list. Major usability problem.

      The GA devices don't seem to be aware of each other in the way you expect. With Alexa I can overlap the devices in such a way that the one which hears me best picks up what is being said and acts. Multiple devices sometimes activate with Google and the response is sometimes randomly shown on a different device than the one which actually picked it up. For instance, sometimes the GA built into the nvidia shield will display a response on the tv to something spoken to the device in the kitchen. Which is also an annoying function, it is actually a PIA to get rid of that pop-up which will disrupt content playing on the TV.

      Music doesn't resume automatically when you give the assistant a command. And the various third party services seem to have poor reliability. When I turn off a zwave light in the livingroom the GA recognizes the command properly 95% of the time which is good enough for me but it actually turns on/off that light maybe 30% of the time with no indication GA knows it failed. Given that the controller is on the LAN and nothing special happening at the times it refuses I have no explanation. Pressing a switch that sends a command to the controller consistently works when GA fails.

      That said, I can build GA integrated devices quite trivially and that is a huge win. So this is still the technology I'm going to support. Also, Amazon tends to be a heavily religion driven organization injecting its moral values into content and trying to exercise a closed and controlled platform rather than an open ecosystem which is just a bad long-term bet. Even if you don't care, developers do.

    11. Re:Stats I'd like to see..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've used it for years and find it incredibly useful especially when out and about. The speed and accuracy if the voice detection and syntax is second to none, almost always beating the devices of people I know who use Siri or Alexa. Then for pure facts and figures there's no competition. Sure Siri might be able to make more jokes and Alexa might allow you to buy shit more quickly from Amazon.. Those features are used 100x less frequently.

    12. Re:Stats I'd like to see..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      One difference in the stats: it used to be optional under Android, and then they made it mandatory.

      I try to use as little of the Google spyware as possible, but it is no longer possible to opt out of voice recognition and google assistant, both of which you used to be either able to uninstall or turn off.

      I don't use either feature now, but have no illusions: I'm sure they listen to my mike & feed everything I do with phone to assistant training.

    13. Re: Stats I'd like to see..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Used it once, they probably count me in those numbers.

    14. Re:Stats I'd like to see..... by sexconker · · Score: 1

      Google maps has done that for years. With voice control, if you want.

    15. Re: Stats I'd like to see..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd like to see the trend line of folks googling "Uninstall Google assistant". I know I Googled, but couldn't figure out how to do so.

    16. Re:Stats I'd like to see..... by SirCowMan · · Score: 1

      Oh, they can be made to go. Nothing Google on my phone.. just need root.

      --
      !Equality through palindromes semordnilap hguorht ytilauqE!
    17. Re:Stats I'd like to see..... by GrumpySteen · · Score: 1

      Also...
      How many people use Alexa?
      How many people know they have it installed?

      Amazon pushed it out to all Kindle Fire tablets and it's always on, so it kills the fuck out of older tablets' battery life.

  3. Google obviously love's this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I would think that Google love's to see as many devices as possible using its AI services. After all collecting more data on people would be in their best interest.

  4. sheeple by sdinfoserv · · Score: 1

    “Big Brother is Watching You.”
    George Orwell, 1984

  5. Fine. Now how do I remote it? by dargaud · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This fucker keeps opening on my phone. I've followed several tutorials on how to remove or disable it, but none work. I DO NOT WANT TO TALK TO MY PHONE. Is that not clear enough ?

    --
    Non-Linux Penguins ?
    1. Re:Fine. Now how do I remote it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You can't remove it, as Google will not let you. Same happened on my Nexus devices, some forced update pushed that crap into my devices, even though they are unsupported from security patches point of view by Google.
      Somehow they do have man power to port these spyware softwares to every Android OS version ever shipped, but their OS security updates end after two year of device launch.

    2. Re:Fine. Now how do I remote it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let me guess - it pops up when you have earphones installed? I've had that happen as well. Not sure if it's a loose connection or what, but it's super frustrating.

    3. Re:Fine. Now how do I remote it? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Would help to know what phone you have, then we might be able to guess how you keep randomly opening it.

      One possibility is a long press of the home button. You can disable that unless your phone is particularly shitty.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    4. Re:Fine. Now how do I remote it? by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

      I DO NOT WANT TO TALK TO MY PHONE. Is that not clear enough ?

      Have you considered telling your phone that you don't want to talk to it? ;)

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    5. Re:Fine. Now how do I remote it? by dargaud · · Score: 1
      'Remove', not 'remote'... Obviously.

      Anyway, I have a phone with Android 7.1.2, but other phones have the same issue. And yes, a long press of [Home] will bring it up, but there's no 'settings' there, and no disable. They want to force feed it to you, just like the removal of the phone jack and so many other things.

      --
      Non-Linux Penguins ?
    6. Re:Fine. Now how do I remote it? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      Open the Google app. Click on "more". Open Settings. Click on Settings (again). Assistant tab. Scroll down and you will see your phone. Click that, then there is a master toggle to enable/disable Google Assistant on that device.

      Ignore the "beware of the leopard" sign.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    7. Re:Fine. Now how do I remote it? by dargaud · · Score: 1

      Thanks, that worked this time. That's incredibly well hidden as I usually go around all the settings on all the apps...

      --
      Non-Linux Penguins ?
    8. Re:Fine. Now how do I remote it? by Solandri · · Score: 2

      Swipe down from the top.
      Settings
      Applications (or Apps & Notifications)
      Default Apps (or Advanced -> Default Apps)
      (might have to select Assist & voice input)
      Assist App
      Change from Google to None

    9. Re:Fine. Now how do I remote it? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      It seems like it just got shuffled around and ended up there, probably because no-one working on it paid much attention to the usability of the off switch on their masterpiece.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    10. Re:Fine. Now how do I remote it? by jwdb · · Score: 1

      Agreed, although I'd be ok with talking to my phone if the processing was done locally.

      But, given that's not today's tech yet, I just switched to a phone with a custom android ROM. Didn't root and did install Play Store, but I left out all the annoying bits, such as Voice, Now, etc... Feels much better not to have to worry about that any more.

      Does carry some risk and takes some technological know-how, but at this point I think it's worth the effort.

    11. Re:Fine. Now how do I remote it? by dargaud · · Score: 1

      I actually did try a few variations of "how to disable yourself", but just like a long suffering wife, it only gave me the cold shoulder...

      --
      Non-Linux Penguins ?
  6. We need a new wiki.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    We are going to need a wiki to keep track of which devices do not include these "assistants" with microphones with software controlled by surveillance companies.

    It's getting harder and harder to avoid.

    1. Re:We need a new wiki.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That is pretty funny! But unfortunately Luddites don't use Wikis.

    2. Re:We need a new wiki.. by sdinfoserv · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Don't be an ass or an idiot. It's the exact contrary - The promise of all the wonderful things technology can do wasn't suppose to be funded by tech companies cannibalizing every personal and private detail about your life and selling it without your knowledge or consent. There's something morally wrong with being forced to accept being constantly watched (camera), monitored (browsing data, texts, apps, usage, purchases, etc) , listened to (microphone), tracked (GPS) without a crime or subpoena because your want to use technology. Like giving away your rights to your own DNA forever (in the ELU of 23andME for example) is morally reprehensible and should be illegal.
      When did citizens stop giving a shit about all those who spilled blood and died protecting freedoms we casually cast away for someone else's profit?

    3. Re:We need a new wiki.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      When did citizens stop giving a shit about all those who spilled blood and died protecting freedoms we casually cast away for someone else's profit?

      September, 1993.

    4. Re:We need a new wiki.. by Shaitan · · Score: 1

      Luddites don't but you don't magically turn into a luddite just because there is some new thing you don't agree is advancement. New is not automatically better and believe it or not some people consider privacy concerns a showstopper.

    5. Re:We need a new wiki.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      [...] The promise of all the wonderful things technology can do wasn't suppose to be funded by tech companies cannibalizing every personal and private detail about your life and selling it without your knowledge or consent. [...]

      Nope. A global fishing expedition in hopes of sending one human male to McNeil Island, for life: https://komonews.com/news/local/a-look-inside-mcneil-island-where-the-state-house-sexual-predators

  7. Like I was given a choice? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    They push it out, no real way to turn off/delete, and claim its a successful product? How delusional are these idiots??

    1. Re:Like I was given a choice? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And in other news, the chocolate ration has been raised to three grams.

    2. Re: Like I was given a choice? by ultimad · · Score: 1

      Disabling Google search app will disable Assistant. Use browser to search. But of course, all search dependant Google apps will be broken

    3. Re:Like I was given a choice? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They push it out, no real way to turn off/delete, and claim its a successful product? How delusional are these idiots??

      You WERE given a choice in the free market economy, which makes alternatives available.

      You didn't exercise that choice and like an idiot you bought a Google product.

      You have no one to blame but yourself.

    4. Re: Like I was given a choice? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is where a 3rd contender mobile platform needs to exist. Any takers?

    5. Re: Like I was given a choice? by varag · · Score: 1

      Well, there is https://necunos.com/

    6. Re:Like I was given a choice? by sdinfoserv · · Score: 1

      “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”

    7. Re:Like I was given a choice? by sdinfoserv · · Score: 1

      "by" 3 grams, not "to" 3 grams.

    8. Re:Like I was given a choice? by sdinfoserv · · Score: 2

      When they use their market share and clout to stomp competitors, that's no choice.

    9. Re:Like I was given a choice? by Shaitan · · Score: 1

      "You WERE given a choice in the free market economy, which makes alternatives available."

      Yeah, a dumb phone or an Apple product which is even worse. How is that a choice? The choices we need aren't the ones which provide the best margins and profitability to companies. Once upon a time people running businesses actually cared about providing a good product at a fair price, now sociopaths stock pumping machines redefine fair price to mean whatever they can get someone to pay via any method they can get ruled as legal in a court. Hell, even illegal is fine as long as nobody says it is illegal out loud and after the court battle they make a profit.

    10. Re:Like I was given a choice? by Maelwryth · · Score: 2

      You have it wrong. It assists Google, not you! It is mildly worrisome that it is installed on so many devices. Especially since those devices are owned by the people with the most money on the planet. In my country we give children little doses of indoctrination for the good of society (anti-smoking, cultural appreciation, environment, etc....). I wonder what would happen if a tech company decided to take the long view and alter peoples views over the course of twenty years?

      --
      I reserve the write to mangle english.
    11. Re:Like I was given a choice? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "You WERE given a choice in the free market economy, which makes alternatives available."

      Yeah, a dumb phone or an Apple product which is even worse. How is that a choice?

      KILL YOURSELF, you USELESS WHINING CUNT.

      You're a spineless whining useless bag of shit and you do not deserve to waste space and oxygen.

      KILL YOURSELF.

    12. Re:Like I was given a choice? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We know its not actually successful because google hasnt canceled it yet.

  8. Or better: by Errol+backfiring · · Score: 2

    How do I uninstall this crap?

    --
    Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
    1. Re: Or better: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Siri, how do I delete you.

    2. Re: Or better: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Siri is really easy to turn off in the iOS settings, and you're asked if you want to use it or not when setting up an iPhone for the first time. Google's assistant however is clearly intended to never be disabled. I tried to do so just the other day on a Nokia running Anroid Pie, and even after reading dozens of pages on how to disable it, I'm not confident it truly is off.

  9. Apples and Oranges by Fnkmaster · · Score: 1

    Most of those billion Google Assistant devices were software updates pushed by Google to existing Android devices. This can be better thought of as the count of Android devices, and a small percentage of Google Home devices. Most of the 100 million Alexa devices, on the other hand, are actual devices sold with Alexa enabled, many of which were purchased specifically for use with Alexa.

  10. The landfills! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Won't someone please think of the landfills!

  11. Google Assistant will be DISABLED on most phones.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Siri, Google, Alexa, Bixby. I turn them all off because they are more trouble than they are worth, and given the amount of spying that has gone on around open microphones, why would anybody want one?

  12. How Many People Wish They Could Remove It? by RonVNX · · Score: 1

    It is a continuing source of irritation. No, I don't want to turn on Google Assistant. If they'd let you remove it completely, I would.

  13. Disable Google Assistant by vastabo · · Score: 1

    First do this:

    https://www.tech-recipes.com/r...

    Android (at least my moto x4) will still respond to the "Ok Google" hotword and prompt you to set up Google Assistant. You probably don't want that, so go into Settings > Apps > Google > Permissions and uncheck the microphone permission.

    Keep an eye on that; you know all of this runs afoul of their conversion strategy so they'll find an excuse to turn it back on or tie that permission to something you actually want to do.

    Honestly, I don't know if Google knows what it wants or why some people find this sort of thing objectionable.

  14. Meh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't use any assistant. My phone is off 80% of the day (due to work requirements). I don't turn it on until I'm back home.
    There's no way I'd consent willingly to use any of them. Some will record 80-100% of the time (Alexia for example), and all of them send everything they capture to the host company (Google, Amazon, Apple, etc..). I've never used one, and never will. How fing hard is it to add something manually to your calendar, or text, etc.? NO ONE should be on the phone while driving, and IMO hands free is a gimmick (still causes distraction).

  15. Installed on vs Used On by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You google assistant may be "installed" (as in no option to remove) on a bazillion devices, but 99.99999% of those installations are disabled. Same goes for Mickey Mouse Cortana. It may be forcibly present on 100% of all Windows 10 machines (bazillions) but it completely disabled on 99.9999999% of them. Same goes for Samsungs Bixby crap. It is probably forcefully present on a bazillion devices and forcibly disabled on 99.999999% of them.

    Make the shit default to NOT INSTALLED and only install it IF WANTED by the user. Now lets see some meaningful statistics about how many times it is DELIBERATELY installed ...

  16. Biggest digital snitch network in the world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And all people allowed it and even installed it them self... irony of stupidity...
    back in the days in communist blocks people were trying to avoid all phone eavesdropping, now they embrace it...