Living in a web of connected smart home devices, helpful personal AIs like Google Assistant are now just a wake phrase away. If you’re using good Bluetooth earbuds, you are probably well aware of the difficulties of reaching it over a wireless connection, especially when your device is locked and out of reach. If you’re one such user, you’ll be glad to hear Google is changing a few default settings for how Assistant works with Bluetooth devices.
Specifically, the company is aiming to improve Assistant when you access it with connected peripherals like wired or wireless headphones/earbuds, and when you cannot unlock your phone. The current implementation relies on a Bluetooth Audio Recording setting. When enabled, it informs Assistant multiple mics are available, like earbuds, your car’s infotainment system mic, or a smartwatch. The company says it is deprecating this setting and Assistant will now default to using the connected Bluetooth device’s mic.
Explaining the logic behind this change, Google says user feedback suggests people are usually closer to their connected Bluetooth device than to their phone, making the former ideal for capturing clear audio. To streamline things further, Google is also making sure Assistant delivers personalized results even when your phone is locked and out of reach. Such results include your address, flight details, etc. To this effect, it is deprecating the toggles for Allow Bluetooth Requests when Device Locked and Allow Wired Headset Requests.
If you’re using earphones or earbuds and the phone is locked, Assistant will now answer queries seeking personal information. If you share your phone with other people or are just privacy conscious, you can turn this setting off under Assistant settings > Personal results > On headphones. To access this setting, Google suggests connecting your headphones beforehand, though we could see it without any connected device.
Notably, the lock screen personal result delivery toggle won’t affect Assistant’s availability when your device is locked. That’s controlled by a separate toggle located under Assistant settings > Lock screen > Assistant responses on lock screen. Some Assistant-enabled headphones may respond to hot-words and queries even if this setting is switched off and the device is locked. To alter this behavior, you may need to dive into the settings for your headphones.
These minor tweaks to Google Assistant settings for Bluetooth devices are geared for convenience. With the system defaulting to your Bluetooth device mic, you won’t need to pull your phone out of its receptacle, just in case. The personal information delivery change isn’t forced either, as you can turn it off if you prefer things that way. Google is handing you the ability to make yourself comfortable here, although we wouldn’t mind additional controls to force usage of the phone’s mic, if needed.
