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Google Chrome 35 Release Brings 'Ok Google' Voice Search Command to All

Google Chrome 35 Release Brings 'Ok Google' Voice Search Command to All

By Robin Sinha | Updated: 22 May 2014 19:39 IST

Google, with the roll-out of the Chrome 35 browser for Windows, Mac and Linux, has announced that its 'Ok Google'-activated voice search service is now available globally. The search engine giant in February rolled out the same feature via Chrome Beta but only in the US, and has since been slowly rolling it out globally.

The announcement, made on a Google+ post by the Google Chrome team, says "With the latest release of Chrome, all #Chromies can now search by voice in Chrome. Just open a new tab or visit Google.com, say 'Ok Google' and take it for a spin."

The voice-search feature in Chrome 35 will let users activate search via the 'OK Google' voice command (first introduced in KitKat via the Google Now Launcher) followed by a question or search query. Besides performing searches and having their questions answered, users can also use their voice to set timers or create reminders. To enable the 'OK Google' voice-assist feature, one can visit Google.com in Chrome, and click on the microphone icon placed on the main Google search bar, and then enable the feature (seen above).

As the Google Chrome team mentions in the Google+ post, users can also enable the feature by opening a new tab (by default, this opens a Google Search widget) and then follow the same process of clicking the microphone icon. Those willing to help improve the service will have to agree to allow the browser to send Google audio from a few seconds before they say 'Ok Google'.

Google on Tuesday released Chrome version 35 (or Chrome 35) for Windows, Mac, Linux and Android. The new update for personal computers (PC) seems to be targeted at developers and not the end users - as the changelog provided by Google on its Chrome blog for Chrome version 35.0.1847.116 includes the following updates: more developer control over touch input, new JavaScript features, Unprefixed Shadow DOM, a number of new apps/extension APIs and lots of under the hood changes for stability and performance.

Of course with Thursday's announcement, we note that 'Ok Google' voice search command is probably the only user-facing feature addition with the release of Chrome 35.

With the Chrome for Android update, Google's changelog lists features such as Undo Tab Close; fullscreen video with subtitles and HTML5 controls; support for some multi-window devices; support for casting some videos with Chromecast, and other bug fixes. The updated app is now available on Google Play.

Providing users with the ability to Undo Tab Close on the Android app is a great move on Google's part. However, the update that intrigues us the most is the support for casting some videos that one might encounter while browsing using a Chromecast. We'll have to wait and watch which websites actually allow their videos to be played using Chromecast.

In February, when this feature was first introduced, the firm as a part of the Chrome Beta update also introduced the supervised users feature. In this feature, the admin user can allow supervised users browse on any other device within the same managed environment via an 'Import' option. Describing the Import user option, "When you import a supervised user, all their permissions will then be synced across devices."

In order to "Import", the admin user would simply have to navigate through Chrome menu placed on the toolbar and enter the 'settings' page. On the settings page, the admin, under 'Users' section would have to click on 'Add new user' followed by "Import an existing supervised user" and select the Supervised user.

The updated 'Supervised users' feature is available on Chrome browsers for Linux, Mac, and Windows.

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