Skip to main content

Google Assistant’s reminders will soon nag your significant other for you


Reminders are a useful feature for those of us who have horrible short-term memories. Soon Google Assistant will allow you to assign reminders to others with the same problem (or who conveniently “forget”). The feature will roll out to Google Assistant-enabled phones, speakers, and displays over the next few weeks, and to Google’s Nest Hub Max when that debuts this fall, the company said.

As it stands now, reminders can be created to be triggered based on time and location, but there’s no way for you to create them for other people easily. With the change, you’ll now be able to assign them to others within your household.

Recommended Videos

It works like this: Say, for example, you wanted to remind your husband, Greg, to take out the trash this evening, so it’s out for pickup tomorrow. Saying something like “Hey, Google, remind Greg to take out the trash at 8 p.m.,” would not only send an immediate notification to Greg’s Google Assistant-enabled devices but remind him again at the time you set.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Like traditional reminders, assigned reminders can also be set to be triggered by arrival or departure from locations the user specifies, the company said. While a relatively minor change to Google Assistant overall, for busy homes, the new feature seems like the 21st-century version of Post-It notes on the refrigerator.

This latest move follows a recent change in how Google handles reminders on Android devices. As first spotted by Android Police last week, reminders now must go through Google Assistant. If you have the Assistant turned off, you’ll lose access to Reminders completely.

While the change seemed to annoy Android loyalists who eschew Google’s digital assistant, perhaps those changes were necessary to make these new assignable reminders work correctly. Google Assistant delivers reminder notifications now, and if the person you want to remind isn’t using Assistant, they won’t receive the reminder.

Ed Oswald
For fifteen years, Ed has written about the latest and greatest in gadgets and technology trends. At Digital Trends, he's…
Google is about to make it a lot easier to customize your Pixel phone
A person holding the Google Pixel 8.

When you first set up a phone, it's essentially the same as every other phone. Customizing it to suit you is part of the fun. Google looks to be making this process a lot easier with a redesigned "Wallpaper & style" page for Pixel phones and tablets.

The news comes courtesy of Android Authority, which first discovered the updated wallpaper app in the Android 15 QPR1 beta (with a full release expected in December).

Read more
Your Google Photos app may soon get a big overhaul. Here’s what it looks like
The Google Photos app running on a Google Pixel 8 Pro.

Google Photos is set to get a long-overdue overhaul that will bring new and improved sharing and notification features to the app. With its automatic backups, easy sorting and search, and album sharing, Google Photos has always been one of the better photo apps, and now it's set to get a whole slew of AI features.

According to an APK teardown done by Android Authority and the leaker AssembleDebug, Google is now set to double down on improving sharing features. Google Photos will get a new social-focused sharing page in version 6.85.0.637477501 for Android devices.

Read more
Google Nest Doorbell vs. Ring Video Doorbell (2nd Gen): which is better for your front door?
Ring Video Doorbell 2nd gen on doorway

Take a stroll through any neighborhood, and you're bound to encounter more than a few video doorbells. These nifty devices have grown in popularity over the years, with companies like Ring, Google, Arlo, and Wyze offering their own take on the hardware. But of all the products available today, few are as well-regarded as the Google Nest Doorbell and Ring Video Doorbell (2nd Gen).

These two devices are easy to install, capture high-quality footage, and bring an added layer of security to your front door. But which of the two is the better purchase -- the Nest Doorbell or the Ring Video Doorbell? Here's a look at both video doorbells to help you decide.
Design

Read more