Google has confirmed it will begin rolling out an update this week for Android 7.0 Nougat and 6.0 Marshmallow phones, that will see Google Assistant be installed.

  • What is Google Assistant, how does it work and which devices offer it?

Google's Siri and Alexa rival was initially only available on the company's own Pixel phones, but has made its way to the LG G6, which lays claim to being the first non-Pixel phone to have it. We suspect several other phone released at MWC to feature it, too. But the Assistant has been installed on other platforms such as Android Wear 2.0 smartwatches and the the Nvidia Shield 4K HDR set-top box.

Compatible phones in the US will be the first to update, with the UK, Australia, Canada and Germany following soon after. Google Assistant will support the German language in Germany, and Google has said it will roll out support for more languages throughout 2017.

The company hasn't specified what makes a phone compatible, so there's a good chance not every single. Marshmallow or Nougat phone will be supported.Phones running earlier iterations of Android, such as KitKat and Lollipop will not be getting the update, at least, not right now.

Google Assistant is a comprehensive, conversational feature that can carry out ongoing dialogue with you, and can understand complex queries and tasks.

Accessing the service will be the same as on current devices, using the "OK, Google" voice command to bring it to life and it will be able to carry out all the standard functions such as setting calendar event and reminder, sending messages, making phone calls, opening apps and start navigation routes.

The update will roll out automatically over the air, so keep your eyes peeled for a notification telling you you can install Google Assistant soon.