Google Lets Android 5.0 Users Customize Settings With Voice Commands

Google has made it possible to adjust some settings in Android via voice commands. Via Google’s search application, users can switch WiFi, Bluetooth and the flashlight on and off. Other settings cannot be controlled by voice yet.

It seems that the extension of Google’s voice control for Android has been quietly implemented some time ago. Android Police discovered that it is possible to control a number of settings in Android by voice: for example, users can indicate via speech that the smartphone should turn the flashlight on or off. In addition, it is possible to switch WiFi and Bluetooth on and off. Other settings, such as the location settings and nfc, cannot yet be adjusted by voice.

For the time being, the voice commands to turn settings directly on and off only work on Android 5.0 and higher. It is unclear whether Google will also bring the feature to older versions of Android. It is likely that the functionality will be expanded in the future, in order to be able to adjust more settings with the voice. Previously, commands such as “turn on bluetooth” referred to the settings page, where the user still had to manually switch the button.

Google has been working on improving voice control in Android for quite some time now. Meanwhile, competitors Apple and Microsoft also have speech systems, with Siri and Cortana respectively.