Voice commands have been around on Android smartphones since quite a few years now. To search for anything or to perform any action, you simply say “Ok Google” and give commands. The Google Assistant, which debuted last year with first-gen Pixel smartphones, too has this ability. Well, if you don’t like the “Ok Google” hotword, you can now say “Hey Google” instead.
Google began testing the “Hey Google” hotword on some Android smartphones in October, and now, it’s being rolled out widely to more users. However, the “Hey Google” hotword actually isn’t new. It was first introduced on Google Home.
Now instead of saying “Ok Google”, you can simply say “Hey Google” to invoke Google Assistant. You will receive a notification on your Android smartphone to re-setup the voice model, after which you will be able to use “Hey Google” to give voice commands.
However, if you don’t get a notification, you can head over to Settings > Google > Search > Voice > Voice Match > Retrain voice model on your smartphone to activate it. Once done, you can use “Hey Google”, alongside “Ok Google”, to invoke Google Assistant or open Google Search.
Well, we actually like the “Hey Google” hotword more, because it sounds more natural than “Ok Google”. What do you think? Which hotword do you prefer more, “Ok Google” or “Hey Google”?
