Google Assistant is a powerful tool, but it doesn’t work the same way the Pixel that it does on Google Home, and both are different from the Android phone you already have. We’ve put together a chart to help clear up what each devices can do.
Google Assistant is the new name for the personalized voice assistant running on new phones like Google’s Pixels, Google Home, and as a chatbot inside Google’s new messaging app Allo. To make matters more confusing, most older devices use voice commands built into Google search. The older assistant used to be called Google Now, but now it’s just called Google because Google sucks at naming stuff. This chart breaks down what each device can do, since Google doesn’t make it terribly clear.
Some of the differences at least make a little sense. For example, Google Home can’t give you directions because it stays inside your house. It also can’t create reminders or calendar events, but presumably that’s because you don’t want to give the whole house the ability to edit your schedule. Then again, why would you give the whole house the ability to read your schedule if that’s the case? Other feature gaps stem from technical limitations. Home can’t make phone calls because it’s not a phone, for example.
However, some of Google’s decisions make very little sense. Older phones can identify songs, but that feature was removed entirely in the Google Assistant rebrand. Google Home can control your chromecast, which makes sense for a device sitting in your living room, but it’s unclear why your phone can’t do the same. Hopefully Google will fill in these gaps over time, but that’s a lot of items on the to-do list.