Well, they say all good things come to an end and the Google Assistant is losing access to its best alternate voice, John Legend.
The celebrity voice provided by the dulcet-toned singer is going away on March 23. Why, you ask? Well because Google only ever promised it would be around for limited time.
It’s a damn shame, because we’d come to love the All Of Me singer responding to our every whim with those sweet, sweet tones. It was even possible to get him to sing Happy Birthday to us. How can we ever go back now?
Google brought the bad news via a tweet on Thursday, informing us that the Legendary-run is almost over, and with it our love affair with the Google Assistant.
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“#HeyGoogle, serenade me one more time.” Enjoy @JohnLegend’s cameo Google Assistant voice before it comes to an end on March 23,” the company wrote on Twitter.
Why it was only a limited time? Only Google, which announced the voice at Google I/O last spring knows the answer to that, but it’s probably something to do with them only paying Legend for a year of his services.
Today, we’re passing the mic to John Legend as he makes a cameo as the newest voice on your Google Assistant. Just say ”Hey Google, #TalkLikeALegend” → https://t.co/bjYXLGXl5F #HeyGoogle pic.twitter.com/bzJ2ejT7nU
— Google (@Google) April 3, 2019
Google does of course have the comedian Issa Rae from the HBO show Insecure as the ace up its sleeve moving forward. And we may see Google announce a replacement for Legend at Google I/O in May.
The keynote will now be an online only affair due to the fears over the coronavirus, but we definitely wouldn’t be surprised to see Google add to its celebrity voice repertoire. For now, we might be tempted to give Alexa’s explicit Samuel L. Jackson voice a spin.
Who would be your dream celebrity voice for your smart speaker? Bit of Graham Norton? Ken Barlow from Corrie? How about good old Kylie Minogue? Let us know @trustedreviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
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.
