Here are 10 of the best things you didn’t realise you could ask Google – get voice searching on your smartphone now with these great handy tips.
Set up your Phone Handsfree
You can either activate the microphone icon on the Google search bar to do a voice search or you can set up your smartphone to respond to the command ‘Ok Google’ when you want to launch a voice search. To set up your handset, go into the Google App and the Menu icon followed by Settings and Voice and choose ‘Ok Google’.
Voice Activated Dialling
You can call the contacts in your mobile phone by just asking Google to ‘Call Dave’. Google will check which Dave if you have more than one in your phonebook. If you want to set up nicknames for your friends and family you can easily do this by using the nickname in your command e.g.; ‘Call my brother’ and you will be asked which number you want to like the nickname ‘brother’ with so it can be set up.
Turn Phone Settings On and Off
If you want to quickly and easily turn on or off one of your phone settings such as the WiFi or even the Flashlight then this is simple to do. Just use the phrase ‘Turn on the Flashlight’ or ‘Turn off WiFi’ etc.
Set up Reminders
Set up quick ‘to do’ reminders when you’re on the go via Ask Google. For example, ‘Remind me to book my car in for a service at 2pm’.
Send Texts and Messages Handsfree
Ask Google is great for sending messages to your contacts without you having to use the keypad. By using the command ‘Text John’ or whoever your contact is, Google will ask you for the message and it will then text it for you.
Get Recommendations from TripAdvisor
If you’re looking for a good restaurant or want to check out the local attractions in a new town or city then Google can hook up with TripAdvisor to find all the information you need. For example, ‘Ok Google show me restaurants in Sydney on TripAdvisor’.
Less Stressful Travelling
Google can bring you all sorts of information to make travelling to new destinations that bit less stressful. You can find out the status of your flight including what terminals you are flying to and from and if there are any delays and you can also ask about things to do at your destination. E.g.: ‘ What attractions are there in Kuala Lumpur’.
Sort out your Social Life
If you want to know what’s on at the cinema or what events are on at a particular theatre or what dishes are on a restaurant menu, Google can search to bring you the current information. For example ‘Show me the menu for Zizzi’s’.
Access all Kinds of Information
If you need to work out a sum, find out a distance between two places or how many calories are in something then Ask Google can do this for you too. Just ask the relevant question such as ‘Ok Google, how many calories are in an apple’.
Identify Music
If you hear a song on the radio or on an advert but you don’t know who sings it or what it’s called then you can use Ask Google to Shazam it for you. Shazam will identify the track and the artist and you can also save it in your Shazam app. Try ‘Ok Google, Shazam this song’.
