- Google aims to make the Assistant more compact and streamlined
- Assistant pop-up features Google Lens shortcut in it
- Assistant disappeared on a few Pixel devices, but is now back
- Google added ‘Updates for you’ and ‘Previous Activity’ shortcut in the pop-up
Google is rolling out a new look for its Assistant. Since its redesign last year, Google began testing a partially launching Assistant redesign. This new, compact Google Assistant started showing up on several devices and Google app beta users. But it is still not completely distributed yet. What Google has been trying to do is bring the ‘compact’ elements of interfaces, from other devices.
The native Google Assistant seems to be missing its original transparent appearance. Many Pixel 4a devices, on Friday, stopped displaying the transparent UI. Instead, it showed a rounded sheet with a giant Assistant logo on it. Earlier it featured a bottom light bar and shortcuts on either side. The sheet said, “Hi, how can I help?”
While the compact Assistant is back after its sudden disappearance, it is available on all devices. It is a wider rollout as users who did not get the smart Assistant UI last month are also getting the update. The new UI has a bunch of new features as well. Firstly, Google Lens is added to the new Assistant. In the earlier versions, there was no way to access Lens directly.
The signature aspect of the latest UI is its compact size. Whenever the Assistant is invoked, its panel pops up from the bottom edge. The newer pop-up is shorter as compared to its earlier design. This results in closely packed UI elements. In the center, a Lens shortcut is present, along with voice and keyboard entry. Earlier it showed only the voice and keyboard entry options. Other similarities between the new and old UI is the shortcut for Snapshot and Explore.
Prior Updates to the Google Assistant
Back in March, Google had hinted in another Assistant Snapshot, of the upcoming changes. The new Assistant will bring together the weather, reminders, calendar events, along with a bunch of relevant and proactive features. Google Assistant was also testing another “Updates for you” feed. It will supposedly replace the old explore option from the bottom-right corner. Thus the compass icon will be replaced by an envelope/messages icon.
It provides an introductory experience to the Assistant, showing you the commands that you can ask. In the suggestions tab, there are no major changes. But it does show a “Previous Activity” shortcut on the left. It brings a sheet of recent commands and links to Assistant history.
The new update brings a large profile avatar in the top-right. The Assistant icon on the left corner is also slightly bigger. This way, in the new Assistant, whenever a question is asked it occupies limited space. Instead of covering the full screen, it just takes the bottom half of the screen. But the new UI makes it feel lighter while at the same time preserving the context.
