Samsung revealed earlier this week that Google Assistant was finally rolling out to the Galaxy Watch 4, which has only had Samsung’s Bixby virtual assistant since the watch was released last year. The good news is that it’s showing up on watches automatically without the need to do anything — in my case, the Assistant icon appeared at the bottom of my watch’s app list, and tapping it started the setup process.
If you don’t see Google Assistant yet, Droid Life pointed out you can force the installation by opening the Play Store app listing for “Google Assistant for wearables,” and then choosing your watch as the target device. Much easier than the process for installing Google Assistant on Samsung’s older Tizen-powered Galaxy Watches, which was also an unofficial version.
By default, holding down the home button (the top side button with an orange outline) still opens Bixby, even after you set up Google Assistant. However, you can change that too. Open the Settings app on the watch (swipe down from the top and tap the settings gear), then go to Advanced features > Customize keys > Home key > Press and hold. From that menu, you can switch between Bixby and Google Assistant opening when you hold down the button.
Google Assistant seems to work more or less like Assistant on other watches. You can ask questions, control smart home devices, stream music (in my case, opening Spotify on the connected phone), and more. You can also optionally enable “Hey Google” listening, so saying that phrase at any time will open Assistant automatically, but that can reduce your battery life.
It’s great that Assistant is finally available on the Watch 4, and if you prefer Bixby for any reason, you still have the option to use it instead of Assistant — just like on Samsung phones.
Source: Samsung, Droid Life
