Most Android users are probably familiar with Google’s smart personal assistant Google Now. One cool feature that came with KitKat are the many new voice commands together with the ability to trigger them by simply saying “Okay Google”. Google also works constantly on new commands to make Google Now an even more helpful tool.
Google Now has become a big part of the Android experience and will probably be even more prominent in future updates. For that reason, it’s about time to get familiar with all the possibilities Google Now has to offer.
So, go ahead, say the magic words or tap the hell out of that microphone button and try them out yourself!
General Commands
- “Search for [chicken recipes]?”
- “Say [where is the supermarket] in [Spanish]?”
- “What is [Schrodinger’s cat]?”
- “Who invented [the internet]?”
- “What is the meaning of [life]?”
- “Who is married to [Ben Affleck]?”
- “Stock price of [Apple]”
- “Author of [Game of Thrones]”
- “How old is [Michael Jordan]?”
- “Post to Google+ [feeling great]”
Notes & Reminders
- “Remind me to [buy milk] at [5 PM]”
- “Remind me [when I get / next time I’m at] [home / work / other location] [to send an email to John]”
- “Wake me up in [5 hours]”
- “Note to self: [I parked my car in section D]”
- “Set alarm for [8 PM]”
Time & Date
- “What time is it in [Tokyo]?”
- “When is the sunset [in Chicago (optional)]”
- ”What is the time zone of [Berlin]”
- “Time at home”
- “Create a calendar event: [Dinner in New York] [Saturday at 8 PM]”
Communication
- “Call [Daniel]”
- “Call [mum / dad / wife / uncle / aunt …]”
- “Send [email] to Daniel, [Subject: Meeting], [Message: Will be there in 5]”
- “Send [SMS] to Philipp mobile, don’t forget to buy milk”
- ”[Contact name]”
Weather
- “Weather”
- “Is it going to rain [tomorrow / Monday]”
- “What’s the weather in [Boston]?”
- “How’s the weather in [Portland] on [Wednesday] going to be?”
Maps & Navigation
- “Map of [Flagstaff]”
- “Show me the nearby [restaurant] on map”
- “Navigate to [Munich] on car”
- “How far is [Berlin] from [Munich]?”
- “Directions to [address / business name / other destination]”
Conversions & Calculations
- “What is the tip for [125] dollars?”
- “Convert [currency / length …] to [currency / length …]”
- “How much is [18] times [48]?”
- “What is [45] percent of [350]?”
- “Square root of [81]”
- “….. equals”
Sports
- “How are [the New York Yankees] doing?”
- “When is the next [Los Angeles Lakers] game?”
- “Show me the [Premier League] table”
- “Did [Bayern Munich] win their last game?”
Flight Information
- “Flight [AA 125]?”
- “Flight status of [AA 125]”
- “Has [LH 210] landed?”
- “When will [AA 120] land / depart?”
Web Browsing
- “Go to [Huffington Post]?”
- “Open [xda.com]”
- “Show me [android.com]”
- “Browse to [reddit.com]”
Entertainment
- “Listen to / play [Intro] by [The XX]?”
- “YouTube [fail compilation]?”
- “Who acted in [Ocean’s 11]?”
- “Who is the producer of [Gladiator]?”
- “When was [Alien] released?”
- “Runtime of [Avatar]”
- “Listen to TV”
- “What’s this song?”
Easter Eggs
- “Do a barrel roll”
- “What’s the loneliest number?”
- “Make me a sandwich!”
- “Sudo make me a sandwich!”
- “When am I?”
- “Okay Jarvis, …” (Instead of “Okay Google, …”)
- “Who are you?”
- “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.”
- “Beam me up, Scotty!”
- “Tilt” or “Askew”
- “What is your favorite color?”
- “Up up down down left right left right”
- “Tea, Earl Grey, hot” (That’s a tricky one)
- “Go go gadget [app name]”
- “When does the narwhal bacon?”
- “What is the Bacon number of [random actor]?”
- “What does the fox say?”
If you want to have the full Google Now experience at all times with all the latest updates – check out the new Nexus 5!