’s app factory is going into overdrive, readying several new features that empower Now the company’s upcoming digital assistant.

The new features are hinted at in the code of the latest beta version of the app, which now powers all of the company’s search artificial intelligence services on Android.

y this matters: According to a teardown by Android lice, we’re learning more about how deeply services will interact with Android. From the assistant to more voice comms, your phone is about to get far more proactive predictive at serving as your aide. These features will be necessary for features like Android Auto on your phone the assistant features of lo.

The Assistant

ile a few hints of the Assistant showed up in a previous build, there’s a lot more to be found in version 6.2 of the app beta (coming to the ay Store or now on A Mirror). The teardown found the following drop-down options in the code for settings, which of course may exp as the final build approaches:

• Changes you make here show up across your Assistant experience
  • Account
  • Activity
  • About me
• Here are things your assistant can do on
  • [a dropdown list of device types]
  • Music
  • News
  • Daily Brief
  • Assistant
  • Connected Home
  • Cast
  • Shopping list
  • Services
• rsonal Voice Actions
  • Voice shortcut

It looks like a combination of ways you can tweak the type of information that you get can search for. The rsonal Voice Actions seems like it could have more down the road, with shortcuts for different comms.

’Ok ’ comms

There are plans to fire up driving notifications in Maps using a simple voice comm. Such functionality would also extend to Android Auto, part of ’s plan to rule the car dashboard keep you focused on driving. Android Auto is coming to phones this year, so you can use it even if you car’s in-dash system doesn’t support it.

Android lice

You should see this option when the beta app updates, it might be worth trying on your next road trip to see what pops up. 

Devices, rooms, groups

Finally, additional code strings show the underlying groundwork for how the Assistant will work with the smart home. The idea is you could tell your phone to cast a particular TV show to the living room TV so it doesn’t end up in the den. Making this work seamlessly requires a considerable effort, hence the early work uncovered here. l of this also shows how inter-tangled ’s ecosystem is, with much of the voice capabilities coming soon to your phone as well as Home, the exa competitor to come later this year.