INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Apple probably didn&t intend to let competitors take advantage of Siri Shortcuts this way, but you can now launch Google Assistant on your
iPhone by saying &Hey Siri, OK Google .&
But don&t expect a flawless experience — it takes multiple steps
After updating the Google Assistant app on iOS, you need to open the app to set up a new Siri Shortcut for Google Assistant.
As the name
suggests, Siri Shortcuts lets you record custom phrases to launch specific apps or features
For instance, you can create Siri Shortcuts to play your favorite playlist, launch directions to a specific place, text someone and more
If you want to chain multiple actions together, you can even create complicated algorithms using Apple Shortcuts app.
By default, Google
suggests the phrase &OK Google.& You can choose something shorter, or &Hey Google,& for instance
After setting that up, you can summon Siri and use this custom phrase to launch Google app.
You may need to unlock your iPhone or iPad to
The Google Assistant app then automatically listens to your query
Again, you need to pause and wait for the app to appear before saying your query.
This is quite a cumbersome walk-around and I&m not sure
many people are going to use it
But the fact that &Hey Siri, OK Google& exists is still very funny.
On another note, Google Assistant is still the worst when it comes to
The app pushes you to enable &web app activity,& the infamous all-encompassing privacy destroyer
If you activate that setting, Google will collect your search history, your Chrome browsing history, your location, your credit card
purchases and more.
It a great example of dark pattern design
If you haven&t enabled web app activity, there a flashy blue banner at the bottom of the app that tells you that you can &unlock more
Assistant features.&
When you tap it, you get a cute little animated drawing to distract you from the text
There only one button, which says &More,& If you tap it, the &More& button becomes &Turn on& — many people are not even going to see &No
thanks& on the bottom left.
It a classic persuasion method
If somebody asks you multiple questions and you say yes every time, you&ll tend to say yes to the last question even if you don&t agree with
You tapped on &Get started& and &More& so you want to tap on the same button one more time
If you say no, Google asks you one more time if you&re 100 percent sure.
So make sure you read everything and you understand that you&re
making a privacy trade-off by using Google Assistant.
