Oliver Haslam on March 14, 2018, 2:13 am

Google Assistant Arrives On The iPad

Google Assistant, the search giant’s competition for Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa, today received a big iOS update that brings with it native support for the iPad.

The look and feel of the new release is very similar to the iPhone one when blown up to iPad proportions, but with the interface itself much better suited to the larger 7.9-inch to 12.9-inch screen sizes used by Apple’s tablets.

While only Siri has access to the majority of features we would want from such a digital assistant, meaning apps like Google Assistant are sandboxed away from all others and essentially crippling them, once inside Google’s updated app users can still carry out the usual swathe of assistant-y features such as making calendar appointments and having questions answered.

The arrival of a fully iPad-optimized version of Google Assistant does add another option for those not keen on Siri’s limitations, but with Apple imposing other, more restrictive limitations on the competition then Google Assistant will always have an uphill struggle.

According to Google’s press release, there are plenty of other changes to take note of, alongside the iPad interface improvements.

– Set the mood by having the Assistant “dim the lights”
– Cast to your TV by asking the Assistant to “watch the latest news on the living room TV”
– Stay in touch by asking the Assistant to “video call mom” or “text Lauren”
– Keep up with your chores by asking the Assistant to “remind me to take out the recycling at 8 PM”

The updated Google Assistant app for iPad is currently available in a range of languages -English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish – and can be downloaded from the App Store right now.