Google has this week announced that third-party Android applications will now support voice commands.
The Mountain View-based company took to the Android Developers Google+ page to reveal that a small selection of apps have already received the oral treatment. These include TripAdvisor, Shazam and Wink.
You now only need to utter a voice command into your phone for these apps to open.
For example, saying “OK Google, Shazam this song,” will prompt the Shazam app to launch and identify the track in question.
Previously, such a voice command would merely have taken you to Shazam’s site.
You need to be specific with what you say, however. Stating “OK Google, what’s this song?” won’t prompt the function.
It’s clearly still early days, but Google wants developers to get in touch with ideas to take voice commands a step further.
“We’re currently piloting custom voice actions with a select group of partners, but we plan to open it up more widely in the future,” said Google.
“We’d love to hear your ideas for actions you’d like to implement.”
Related: Best Android Apps
It’s been a big week for the developer community, with Microsoft holding its annual Build conference on Wednesday.
This year’s event focused on Windows 10, HoloLens and Windows Edge. Follow the link above for all of the highlights.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
