Pixel 8 could introduce a sweet new way to reply to notifications using voice

When you get a message notification on your Android phone, you can already quickly reply to the message right from the notification. Of course, to do so, you need to use your hands. This might be inconvenient at certain times.

However, according to Android expert Mishaal Rahman’s paywalled Patreon, there might be a Google Pixel 8 feature that makes this process hands-free. Rahman’s exploration of Android code revealed plans for a voice-activated response to notifications that would allow you to use Google Assistant to dictate what you want to say. It appears to be similar to how it works on Android Auto, but without Assistant first asking you if you want to respond.

In other words, the steps would go like this:

1. A message notification arrives on your phone
2. You say, “Hey Google, reply” or simply just “reply” under certain conditions.
3. Assistant would prompt you to dictate your message and then send it

Today, there is no way to do this. The closest you could get would be to receive a message, read it, and then say, “Hey Google, send message to [contact name]” and compose your message from there. This new method would be much more seamless and conversational.

Rahman admits that he’s not sure if this will be a Google Pixel 8 feature when the phone launches. Instead, it might come later with a future Feature Drop. It’s also possible this could come to other Pixels immediately or eventually, as it doesn’t seem like the process would require any hardware specific to the Pixel 8. Time will tell.