Google has confirmed that Google Assistant's spoken notifications are now available on all wired headphones (via 9to5Google).
This means that Google Assistant will read your incoming notifications aloud through your wired headphones connected to your Android phone – handy when your phone is in your pocket.
Previously, Google's voice assistant only worked on certain headphones that were specifically "optimised for Google Assistant", namely selected Bose and Sony Bluetooth headphones, as well as Google's own Pixel Buds.
Fancy giving it a whirl? You'll need an Android device running the latest version of the Google app. Plugging in your headphones (either via USB-C or a 3.5mm jack) should result in a notification that says: "talk to your Assistant on headphones." Accepting this will launch the set-up process.
The Google app will then ask for your permission to “allow your Assistant to read your notification to you”. Agree and Assistant will read your incoming notifications, including text messages and calendar reminders.
For the sake of privacy, you'll also be asked whether you'd like to allow Assistant to read out personal notifications from your calendar when your phone is locked (best to disable that if want surprise birthday parties to remain a surprise).
You can check everything is tickety-boo by going to the Devices list under Google Assistant settings. “Wired headphones” should show up under “Personal” where you can enable/disable “Get help from Google” at any time. There's also the option to allow trusted apps to use spoken notifications, too.
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