Last July, Google began testing with a redesign of Assistant that was partially launched with the Pixel 4. This compact Google Assistant now appears to several Google app beta users on its widest – but not yet complete – release.
The signature aspect of this new design is its compact size. It starts with the panel that appears after calling Assistant is shorter than before, while placing UI elements closer together. The center pill that gives access to lens, speech and keyboard input has not changed. Shortcuts for Snapshot and Explore also remain the same, although some users today see one for “Updates”, which provides an introduction to what Assistant can do,
The carousel with suggested chips looks the same, but there is now one for “Previous activity.” Except left, this will display a page with recent commands and links to all assistant history.
The next change is a large profile avatar in the upper right, while the Assistant icon in the other corner is slightly larger.
Once you ask a question, the assistant panel no longer occupies the entire display to show the answer. Most results – like requesting music – simply take up the bottom half of your screen, while the weather will leave a sling of background, whether it’s your home screen or the last used app. A small change in the last command shows Google fitness icons in the suggestion tip.
Overall, this context helps maintain and make Google feel lighter, as we noted in our new assistant review:
This much improved retention of context and subtlety shows how Google wants you to interact with Assistant. Once upon a time, voice was an experience that took the entire display and often brought you to a rolling feed. The new assistant on the Pixel 4 is now more closely related to Google’s announced ambient computing future where interaction with help should occur without a thought to disrupt your life.
The last rollout when more users encountered the compact Google Assistant happened in June. As of this morning, the redesign is still showing its widest availability on the beta channel. However, it has not yet been fully launched.
More about Google Assistant:
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