Ok Google, Everywhere!

Last week Google rolled out a pretty big update to Google Now. Among those updates was a sneaky trick; if you have an Android 4.4 device, use Google Now to search “Ok Google Everywhere”. Now head to your Google Now settings and select “Ok Google detection”. You now have Google Now everywhere!

ok google

Judie, Dan and I discovered this fun trick Sunday, and so far I haven’t noticed a major battery hit on my HTC One M8. It has prompted me to discover some very cool tricks that Google Now has up its sleeve. For example, this morning I was driving to work and a song I didn’t know came on the radio. Without taking my eyes off the road, I was able to ask Google to listen to the song and identify it for me. I didn’t even have to touch a single button on the car itself to trigger it!

Yes, some cars now have Siri buttons, or similar “voice activation” type features, but my car is old, and I’m lucky the Bluetooth can make phone calls. Google Now Everywhere is bringing a feature I wouldn’t have had until I upgrade my car to my arsenal now, which is pretty exciting.

One protip: When showing off the new feature, try not to use the phrase “Ok Google” when describing it, or you’ll find yourself accidentally Googling bits of conversation as you describe how cool your phone is!

Check out CNet’s directions for activating your Google Now Everywhere trick, and if you have an Android 4.4 device and can’t get this working, make sure your Google Search is up to date in the Google Play store.

 

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About the Author

Zek
Zek has been a gadget fiend for a long time, going back to their first PDA (a Palm M100). They quickly went from researching what PDA to buy to following tech news closely and keeping up with the latest and greatest stuff. They love writing about ebooks because they combine their two favorite activities; reading anything and everything, and talking about fun new tech toys. What could be better?

2 Comments on "Ok Google, Everywhere!"

  1. My only word of warning about this is that people with a phone like mine (the Moto X or the 2013 Moto Droids from Verizon) are reporting problems with this feature when they try to record videos in the camera app. The app reports that the media cannot be captures, presumably because the Google Search app is holding the microphone open. That said, these phones already have Touchless controls always listening, which is already an interface to Google Search/Now, so they’re still functional if you disable ok google detection in the search app.

  2. Interesting. I didn’t even think of that, and just tested it on the HTC One. It gave me a message that “another app was using the microphone and has been terminated” and I was able to record video fine. When I exited the video, ‘OK Google’ still worked.

    I guess it depends on how your phone handles camera/video.

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