Over the years, Google has devoted its resources in the development Google Assistant, the company’s AI-powered virtual assistant. Every year, the Mountain View, California-based company brings updates to the Assistant, and this year is not expected to be different. A report by 9to5google, suggests that this year, the Google Assistant in the upcoming Pixel 4 devices will be able to take over the call if the person on the other side has put you on hold, and it will notify you when that person is back on the call.
While it is not known exactly how the feature will work, the report says that a user can tap a button on the display to tell Assistant that you are on hold. While the use cases of this feature might be limited but it could come in handy when called on duty. For example, you are preparing food and you get a call from a friend. While you were talking, your friend gets an important call and he/she puts you on hold.
What you hear is a music or an operator repeating the same sentences. This is likely to irritate you. The feature, which is rumoured to be named ‘Hold my phone’, could come handy in such situations. You tap the button to tell the Assistant to deal with the pre-recorded voice while you focus on preparing your food. As soon as your friend resumes talking, the Assistant will notify you that the human is back on the call, and you can continue talking to your friend.
Our source now tells us this feature might be called “Hold my Phone”, which sounds like a bad name, but I also can’t come up with a good name for this either.
— Stephen Hall (@hallstephenj) September 7, 2019
The report also says that the feature is still under development, and it would be a ‘surprise’ if Google makes it available when they launch the phone. It is likely that the company may roll the feature out on the Pixel 4 before releasing it for the other Pixel phones at a later stage.
This is not the first time that Google has included a ‘wow’ element to the Assistant. At last year’s Google I/O annual developer’s conference, the company showcased how the AI assistant can make reservations at a restaurant or for a haircut. During the launch of Pixel 3 devices, the firm showcased “Call Screen” feature that notifies the caller that the Google Assistant would be screening the call, and allows users to “screen” calls, that is, read transcriptions on the screen.
