Keyboard and Android Wear support for Google Assistant may be coming soon

Google Assistant, the digital AI that’s included in the recent Google Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones, may be receiving some new features in the near future. A look at the latest beta of the Google search app indicates that Google Assistant may soon include keyboard support, along with support for the Android Wear smartwatch OS.

A closer look into the 6.10 beta version of the Google search app reveals some changes in the Google Assistant popup. It now includes a button with a keyboard icon and a box for typing out texts. It’s likely that this change, if it happens, will be very welcome for Pixel owners who may not feel the need to use their voice to access Assistant all the time.

A deeper look into the code also shows some settings for using Assistant on Android Wear. Finally, the code also reveals something called “Search gestures” which may indicate that users might be able to swipe on a screen to perform searches.

Keep in mind that code breakdowns may indicate features that are just placeholders and there’s the real possibility that they may never be officially released. However, we would suspect that keyboard access for Google Assistant would be a big plus for Pixel owners if it actually happens.

During CES 2017 this week, Google confirmed it will soon be adding Google Assistant support to smart TVs and set-top boxes in the coming months.