Google Ends Assistant Support for Several Third-Party Devices
Google Assistant’s dominance as one of the most efficient pieces of software to ever come out of Google’s laboratories has led to its adoption on many devices, both from Google and with third-party brands and companies. This may start to change soon however, as a new update from Google seeks to reduce Assistant’s availability on certain devices.
This was spotted in a report made online, more specifically from an update from Google’s official support page regarding Google Duo Calls on smart speakers and displays. As per the announcement:
“Google no longer provides software updates for these third-party Smart Displays: Lenovo Smart Display (7″, 8″ & 10″), JBL Link View and LG Xboom AI ThinQ WK9 Smart Display. This could impact the quality of video calls and meetings.”
With that being said, there’s no mention of any other devices that will lose operability or updates with Google Assistant, at least for the time being. It should also be noted that while Assistant and Duo calls might still work with the aforementioned devices, Google does add a disclaimer about the quality of video calls during use.
Currently, the software feature is available for Google’s own Nest devices, which run on Fuchsia OS.
Source: Google