Google has added two new “Ok Google” voice commands to Google Search: “take a picture” and “take a video.” You can now tell your phone to start the camera and snap a picture or record a video, and it’ll do just that all on its own. Granted, you’ll still have to do the framing, and you need your fingers to open Google Search in the first place. But after that, no more fumbling with onscreen buttons, especially on those phones that lack a physical shutter button. Photo and video capture is normally a two-handed affair, but you can hold your phone in one hand and speak the command to take a picture or shoot a video, freeing your other hand to do whatever.
And here’s the best part: Because the implementation of these two new voice commands is server-based, you don’t actually have to update your Google Search app. In theory, the “take a picture” and “take a video” commands should be working right now, though they may not be available in all regions yet. The best way to find that out is by simply trying it on your phone. In the worst case, you get a list of videos on the topic of “take a.” Also, you might look a bit weird telling your phone to take a picture. But we also got used to people making phone calls on the street, didn’t we.
(Via Google)
