Google Assistant has finally received an update for iOS that makes it a universal app that also works now on iPad. The app has all the same useful features that its iPhone variant has, including better-than-Siri voice assistance, and some iPad native features like split-screen, support for portrait and landscape modes and so on.
Google Assistant on iPad supports multitasking and split-screen view so you can talk to the app while you use another app on your iPad. Just like on iPhone, you can also add Google Assistant as a widget in the notification center.
Google recently announced the availability of Routines which lets you execute a group of actions with a single phrase. Currently, users can setup the following routines: “Good morning,” “Bedtime,” Leaving home,” “I’m home,” “Commuting to work,” and “Commuting home.” From the Google Assistant app, users can go to ‘More Settings’ and look four Routines under Services. From here, you can setup a number of actions that execute when you speak the words from any of these routines. For example, you can setup Google to turn on lights, playback news headlines, and start your coffee maker when you say Good Morning to your Assistant. The number of actions are limited by the number of devices that you have connected to Google Home and Assistant.
Assistant has steadily been gaining new features and devices while on the other hand, Siri has been lagging behind. Based on common queries, Siri simply is unable to respond as well as Google Assistant which is a shame as Apple was the first company to introduce voice assistants to the world. Let’s hope that Apple announces improvements to Siri at WWDC 2018.
Google Assistant for iPad is available in the App Store and currently supports English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil) and Spanish.
